At A Glance
- Government agencies posted a 93.8-percent utilization rate of their cash allocations as of end-August, lower than last year's 95 percent, with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Department of Energy (DOE) still falling behind.
Government agencies posted a 93.8-percent utilization rate of their cash allocations as of end-August, lower than last year’s 95 percent, with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and the Department of Energy (DOE) still falling behind.
Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that notices of cash allocation (NCAs) released to state agencies reached ₱3.36 trillion in January to August, 7.7 percent higher than last year’s ₱3.12 trillion.
Of this amount, ₱3.15 trillion was utilized by line departments, state-run corporations, and local government units (LGUs), leaving ₱209.1 billion in unused funds during the eight-month period.
NCAs are fund release authorities issued by the DBM that allow government agencies to spend for their programs and projects. A higher NCA utilization rate indicates that agencies are disbursing funds and implementing projects in a timely manner.
None of these agencies achieved a 100-percent utilization rate during the period; however, the Commission on Audit (COA) posted the highest rate at 99.6 percent.
Notably, the DICT posted the lowest utilization rate at 58.1 percent, using only P5.3 billion of the P9.1 billion released. It has overtaken the DOE, which closely followed at 64.5 percent. Of the ₱1.9 billion released, the DICT utilized ₱1.2 billion.
By value, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) received the highest allocation of ₱646.7 billion, of which 94.3 percent has been used. The Department of Education (DepEd) received the second-largest allocation of ₱484.6 billion, with 95.8 percent utilized.
At end-August, ₱6.04 trillion or 95.5 percent of this year’s record ₱6.326-trillion national budget had been released, DBM data showed. This leaves the government agencies ₱285.3 billion in unreleased funds.
Congress has already approved the proposed national budget of ₱6.793 trillion for fiscal year 2026.
It can be recalled that in the 2024 Agency Performance Review (APR) report, the DBM flagged 16 of the 308 assessed national government agencies (NGAs) as performing poorly or unsatisfactorily in both fiscal terms and program implementation.
Meanwhile, 14 achieved an outstanding performance rating, 181 were rated very satisfactory, and 94 received a satisfactory rating.