While the Marcos administration used 99 percent of funds allocated last year, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) only used around two-thirds of their funds.

DBM data showed that the national government’s notice of cash allocation (NCA) utilization rate was higher than the 2023 rate at 98 percent.

Of the ₱4.9 trillion worth of NCAs issued last year, ₱4.83 trillion were utilized by the Marcos administration, covering the national government agencies (NGAs), local government units (LGUs) and government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs).

Unused allocations stood at ₱72.1 billion, lower than the ₱107.9 billion unused allocations in 2023.

Notably, the DBM and DHSUD had the lowest utilization rates in 2024. The DBM’s utilization rate stood at 72 percent, down from a 98-percent rate in 2023. ₱863.6 million were left of the ₱2.2 billion total allocations.

It followed DHSUD, which had the lowest utilization rate at 67 percent from 89 percent in 2023. The agency had not used ₱1.1 billion of the ₱2.3 billion allocations. 

“That may likely have to do with low level of obligation or questions about completion of implementation,” former Budget chief Florencio B. Abad said, but added that the DBM’s level of obligation must be checked first. 

Meanwhile, eight departments fully utilized their cash allocations, including the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the judiciary, Commission on Elections (Comelec), Office of the Ombudsman, and Commission on Human Rights (CHR).

Allocations to LGUs and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) were also utilized 100 percent.

The offices or departments that had relatively lower utilization rates were the Office of the President (OP), Office of the Vice-President (OVP), Department of Agriculture (DA), and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), all of which posted an 86-percent utilization rate.

President Marcos’ office left ₱1.5 billion in unused funds in 2024. The OVP had ₱268.5 million, the DA had ₱5.2 billion, and the DTI had ₱1.3 billion.

NCAs are quarterly fund releases from the DBM, allowing government agencies to access Treasury funds for their spending requirements.

Last year, the Philippines’ national budget was ₱5.77 trillion. The Marcos administration exceeded its budget by over half a trillion pesos when the total releases hit ₱6.37 trillion.

For 2025, the budget stands at ₱6.32 trillion, more than half of which had already been released, DBM earlier said. Of the released budget, government departments have so far received a total of ₱4.1 trillion.