Department of Budget and Management Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said that government agencies spent 45 percent of their budget as of the first quarter.
At the sidelines of the launching of the Green Green Green program, Pangandaman told reporters that the average “obligation rate” of the national government as a whole was 45 percent as of March 31.
“When we look at on average, usually kasi one year, so ang pinakamababa at least ay 25 percent kasi per quarter, but surprisingly nung chineck namin yung first quarter nila its more than 25 percent on average, 45 percent siya actually,” Pangandaman said.
The data for the second quarter of the year was not yet available, but based on first quarter data showed that the Department of Migrant Workers and the Office of the President were among the lowest spenders as their utilization rates were only 46 percent and 89 percent, respectively.
The DBM issued a circular letter dated June 28 that instructs government agencies with low budget utilization rates to submit their catch-up plans.
It ordered the heads of departments, agencies, bureaus, and offices of the national government to provide their 2024 budget utilization report as of June 30, 2024.
The DBM also asked to report the current status of flagship programs and projects of the Marcos administration, especially those with significant budget allocations.
“Iniisa-isa na namin yung mga big ticket items nila and then we show them kung mabilis, mabagal para we remind them to spend,” the DBM chief said.
The circular also mandated that agencies with utilization rates below 50 percent submit "detailed catch-up plans”, which should outline specific implementation issues or challenges that have led to the low utilization rates.
This year, the Marcos administration has set a disbursement program of P5.754 trillion. As of May, the national government has already spent P2.258 trillion, which accounts for 39.2 percent of the target amount.
For the first six months of the year, the national government has a spending target of P2.739 trillion.