DBM records 90% budget utilization rate among gov’t agencies

MANILA, Philippines — As it recorded a budget utilization rate of 90% among government agencies, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) urged agencies to ramp up their disbursement and spending further.

The DBM on Monday said government agencies achieved a 90% utilization rate from January to April this year, which is reflected in the report on the utilization of notices of cash allocations (NCAs) for national government agencies and budgetary support to Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations and local government units as of the end of April.

It said that the 90-percent utilization rate is equivalent to P1.175 trillion of NCAs used for the period.

NCAs are cash authority documents issued by the DBM to the account of agencies/operating units through authorized government servicing banks to cover the cash requirements of the agencies for their programs and projects.

As of April 30, the DBM said it released P2.982 trillion or 94.8% of the agency-specific budget to various national government agencies.

The DBM has released P4.518 trillion, or 85.8% of the P5.268 trillion national budget.

“We all know that our national budget is the lifeblood of all government programs and projects. The faster we disburse and utilize our funds, the faster we can procure and implement our projects,” DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said in a statement.

“That’s why we want to remind our agencies to avoid underspending, given our [minimal] fiscal space. Again, we need to instill discipline in our national government agencies or we shall put the money to agencies which can really implement them,” she added.

“We have to remember, as early as the start of the year, we have emphasized that only implementation-ready proposals will be included in the 2024 Budget,” Pangandaman continued.

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