The cash utilization of government agencies in the first three quarters of the year is at 95 percent, data released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed.
According to the status of notice of cash allocation (NCA) utilization posted on the DBM website, the utilization rate in January to September was faster than the 94 percent posted in the same period in 2020.
The NCA utilization rate as of end-September corresponds to P2.82 trillion out of P2.96 trillion in NCAs released for the period.
From January to September, the unutilized NCAs totaled to P140.52 billion.
In the same period in 2020, the NCAs utilized was P2.55 trillion.
NCA refers to the disbursement authority issued by the DBM to cover the cash requirements of the operations, programs and projects of government agencies.
A higher NCA utilization rate demonstrates the capacity of line agencies to quickly disburse their allocated funds and implement their programs and projects.
Line departments utilized P1.93 trillion of the P2.06 trillion in NCAs released to them from January to September this year, equivalent to a 94 percent year-to-date NCA utilization rate.
As for NCA released for budgetary support to government-owned and -controlled corporations, 96 percent was utilized, while 100 percent of the NCA released for allotment to local government units was utilized as of end-September.
Meanwhile, DBM data also showed that government’s disbursements for infrastructure and other capital outlays jumped by 60.2 percent in August.
According to a report posted on the DBM website Monday, spending for infrastructure and other capital outlays rose to P70.9 billion for the said month, from the P44.3 billion recorded a year ago.
The DBM said the increase is attributed mainly to the implementation of various road infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways, such as construction, completion, repair, rehabilitation or improvement of government buildings, access, by-pass and diversion roads, bridges, flood mitigation structures and drainage systems, as well as aviation sector infrastructure projects of the Department of Transportation, in particular the Tacloban, Kalibo and Bukidnon airport projects.
The DBM also cited projects under the revised Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program of the Department of National Defense and capital outlay projects of state universities and colleges such as the Smart Campuses Program for the increase.
Year-to-date, infrastructure and other capital outlays rose by 44.6 percent, to P570.4 billion from P394.5 billion a year ago.
The national government’s total spending for August went up by 34.2 percent year-on-year to reach P380.2 billion, while disbursements for the first eight months of 2021 reached P2.96 trillion, 11 percent up from the year ago level.
The DBM said that based on preliminary bank data, disbursements in September likely posted a positive growth rate vis-a-vis the previous year’s 15.5 percent contraction.
“Although the outturn will also be affected by other expense items such as tax subsidies, interest payments, and net lending assistance to government corporations, the momentum of spending growth is expected to be sustained for the rest of the year,” the DBM said.
“Infrastructure and other capital expenditures will continue to drive government disbursements for the remaining months as payables for completed and partially completed infrastructure activities become due and demandable, alongside the regular operating expenditures of various line departments,” it added. – Angela Celis
