ASIDE from infrastructure, the Duterte administration also spent more for personnel services in the first quarter, breaching government targets.
In a statement, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said spending for personnel services reached 206.6 billion during the first quarter of the year, for a 23-percent increase year-on-year.
Meanwhile, infrastructure spending grew by 34 percent to P157.1 billion.
Actual disbursements, which surged by 27 percent to P782 billion, exceeded the P755.8-billion target by P26.2 billion, or 3.5 percent.
“The outlook on government spending remains sanguine, and we expect government spending to prop up the growth prospects of the Philippine economy as we aim for economic expansion at the rate of 7 percent to 8 percent in the medium term,” Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno was quoted in a statement as saying.
“We will not let up in our efforts to limit underspending and continue with the efficient and accountable management of public resources,” Diokno added.
Government spending for March also grew by 30 percent year-on-year, reaching P313.1 billion, sustaining the robust growth in disbursements for the first three months of the year.
Drivers of spending growth in the third month of the year were mainly subsidy-paced spending, infrastructure and other capital outlays and personnel services.
Subsidy-paced spending reached P35.2 billion, which is higher by P26.8 billion or 32 percent year-on-year.
“This is on account of the first batch of releases for health- insurance premiums of senior citizens, amounting to P15.1 billion, under the National Health Insurance Program,” the DBM said, adding P4.3 billion was also downloaded for the tax-reform cash project under the Land Bank of the Philippines for some 1.8 million beneficiary households of the conditional-cash transfer program.
Other significant items include the P3.4-billion subsidy to the National Irrigation Administration, P1.8 billion to the National Food Authority for its rice-importation program and P1.5 billion for power subsidy to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, the DBM added.
Infrastructure and Other Capital Outlays also continued its upward momentum, rising by 32.4 percent year-on-year, reaching P63.4 billion in March on account of implemented road infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways, completed construction of police stations by the Department of the Interior and Local Government-Philippine National Police, and repairs and rehabilitation of school facilities, as well as purchase of office supplies and furniture for various Department of Education (DepEd) schools nationwide.
Meanwhile, Personnel Services also rose by 23 percent year-on-year, to close at P86.3 billion. This was driven by increase in the pay of both civilian, and military and uniformed personnel, the release of the 2016 Performance-Based Bonus to qualified DepEd employees, and the transfer of funds to the Development Bank of the Philippines for the salaries and allowances of poll watchers for the 2018 barangay Sangguniang and Kabataan elections contributed to higher personnel services spending.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes