DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman (Screenshot from YouTube)

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has told the various agencies in government that have low obligation rates in connection with the P5.268-trillion national budget this year to submit their respective "catch-up plans". 

This was learned by House of Representatives members Thursday afternoon, Aug. 10 from DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman during the Committee on Appropriations' initial briefing on 2024 National Expenditure Program (NEP). 

Pangandaman, who was joined by her fellow economic managers from the Development and Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) in the briefing, said these catch-up plans must be turned in by Sept.15, 2023. 

Before this, Bulacan 6th district Rep. Salvador Pleyto had asked the DBM chief during interpellation as to "how the past budget were implemented". 

"Kailangan po kasi namin malaman ito bago namin i-vet ang iba’t-ibang departamento. Sino po ang mga ahensya na nanguna sa mabilis at maayos na paggamit ng kanilang pondo? And on the contrary, sino po rin ang mabagal o nahihirapan sa pag-utilize ng pondo nila?" Pleyto said. 

(We need to know this before we vet the different departments. Which were the agencies that led others in the quick and proper usage of their funds? And which agencies were slow or had experienced difficulties in utilizing their funds?). 

Pangandaman answered by enumerating the departments that were at the bottom of the pile in terms of obligation rate for the period of Jan. 1 to March 31, 2023. 

These are the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), with only a 5.6 percent obligation rate; Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), 10 percent. Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), 11.4 percent; and Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), 13.8 percent. 

She also mentioned the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), 14.1 percent; Office of the Press Secretary (OPS), 14.9 percent; Civil Service Commission (CSC), 18.4 percent; and Department of Tourism (DOT), 18.9 percent. 

Asked by Pleyto what the DBM has done to address the low obligation rates, Pangandaman said, "We already prepared a circular letter to all the heads of departments, agencies,  including commissions, offices...the subject matter is submission of agency catch-up plans to facilitate budget execution for the rest of the fiscal year 2023." 

She said that directive was released Thursday morning.

The 2024 NEP is worth a record P5.768 trillion.