National government spending for July, the first month of the Duterte administration, amounted to P220.9 billion, or a growth of 4.9 percent from spending during the same month in 2015.
However, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the pace of disbursement is still slow, considering that the growth in spending in July was merely due to the release of government subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).
The DBM said the growth in actual disbursements in July was due to the P35.3 billion in subsidies to GOCCs, a bulk of which went to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), which received P33.8 billion in subsidies in July to pay for the health-insurance premiums of indigent citizens enrolled in the National Health Insurance Program.
The increase in disbursements of government subsidies to GOCCs was tempered by a decrease in disbursements on salaries of government personnel and on maintenance expenditures.
In July expenditures for personnel services amounted to P42.6 billion, down by 8.4 percent from expenditures for this item during the same month in 2015.
Disbursements for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) amounted to only P28.4 billion in July, or down by 22.5 percent from the MOOE for the same month in 2015.
Growth in infrastructure spending, however, was only minimal, as total capital outlay for July amounted to P45.9 billion, or slightly higher than the P45.5 billion in capital outlay for the same period last year.
The DBM said that, despite the slow pace of disbursement of government funds for projects, which will stimulate the economy, it still expects a big surge in spending during the remaining months of the year, as construction projects go on a 24/7 basis in Metro Manila and other key cities.
“Underspending remains a key challenge, but as agency heads devote more time in the operations of their respective offices, they will soon have a better grasp of their programs and projects, which could, in the succeeding months, accelerate disbursements,” the DBM said in its explanation of the national government’s disbursement performance as of July 2016.
“Nonetheless, the government is committed to deliver with its spending commitments hence new expenditures measures would be undertaken. In the coming months, the implementation of major infrastructure projects in Metro Manila and major cities will go on a 24-hours [a day], seven-days-a-week basis,” the DBM added.