H1 infrastructure spending peaks at 42.2 percentFriday 2nd of August 2013

MANILA, Aug 2 -- Reinforcing the Aquino administration’s bid to achieve sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the country, the Department of Budget and Management reported that public spending on infrastructure and other Capital Outlays jumped to P125.5 billion in the first semester of the year, a P37.2 billion or 42.2 percent increase from last year’s outturn.

This, along with improved year-on-year spending in other expense classes, helped push total government spending for the period to P890.8 billion, P95.4 billion or 12 percent higher than the P795.3 billion tracked in the first semester of 2012.

The sustained momentum in public spending is also reflected in the 14.9-percent year-on-year increase in disbursements for the second quarter, which is almost 6 percent higher than the first quarter growth of 9.1 percent. Disbursements posted from April to June this year are also considered the highest in the last seven years, with the exception of 2009 second-quarter figures.

“We continue to work very closely with key implementing agencies not only to facilitate swift and efficient public spending, but also to ensure that our disbursement activities are fully aligned with the Administration’s broader growth objectives. For instance, efficiency-building reforms—such as advanced procurement—allowed us to ramp up infrastructure spending among major implementing agencies, including DPWH, DOTC, DA, DoH and DepEd,” Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad said.

Abad also noted that procurement reforms will continue to play a central role in ensuring faster and more efficient spending in the next fiscal year, particularly in view of the recent submission of the proposed 2014 Budget.

“We already required agencies to jump-start the procurement process right after the budget submission, which will enable them to devote the last quarter of the year to advance procurement activities. This includes bidding out projects short of award, so agencies can hit the ground running with their programs the moment the budget is successfully enacted,” Abad said.

The significant year-on-year increase in infrastructure spending is largely attributed to the implementation of major projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), including the San Roque Multi-Purpose project and other larger infrastructure programs in ARMM, among others.

Government spending on maintenance and other operating expenditures (MOOE) similarly grew by 26.2 percent or P30.1 billion to P145.0 billion over the same period, due mainly to election-related expenditures by the COMELEC and the cash grants for the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) CCT program, including expenditures for other social protection programs such as the Supplemental Feeding program and the Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran program (SEA-K).

Abad added that the considerable year-on-year decrease in net lending for the first six months of the year showed that the Administration was no longer making up for losses tracked by government-owned or –controlled corporations (GOCCs).

“In the long run, our strong expenditure performance in the first half of the year will help drive growth toward a more inclusive direction, beginning with increased local and foreign investments in the country and the creation of jobs for the our expanding workforce. We’re looking at speeding up disbursements in the second semester further, so that agencies can fast-track the delivery of key goods and services and, ultimately, ensure that the benefits of improved governance will redound to all Filipinos,” he added.

Personnel Services grew by P27.6 billion or 10.8 percent to P289.9 billion due to the last tranche of the salary increase for government employees under the Salary Standardization Law III, compensation for government personnel involved in the conduct of the national elections last May and the newly-created teaching, police and firefighter positions.

Interest Payments likewise increased by P7.1 billion or 4.8 percent from last year’s level to service domestic borrowings, particularly on fixed rate and retail treasury bonds issued in the second half of 2012 and first quarter of 2013.

Allotments to LGUs also rose by 10.6 percent year-on-year, bringing the first-semester level to P120.9 billion. (DBM)

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links:

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