Over 98% of 2019 budget released
Credit to Author: Mayvelin U. Caraballo, TMT| Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2019 16:57:11 +0000
Almost 99 percent of the P3.62 trillion in this year’s national budget has been released as of end-November, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced on Monday.
In a statement, the Budget department said P3.62 trillion or 98.9 percent of the P3.66 trillion-budget had been released in the first 11 months of the year.
Of the total released in the period, P2.05 trillion was released to the line departments, which include funds allocated for agencies in the executive branch, congress, the judiciary, and other constitutional offices.
The department added that P369.04 billion was released as special purpose funds (SPFs), which are budgetary allocations in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for specific socioeconomic purposes.
These are usually lump sum in nature, as the recipient departments or agencies and/or specific programs and projects were yet to be identified during the budget’s preparation and legislation.
The DBM also elaborated that SPFs are used as budgetary support for government corporations, allocation to local governments, contingent fund, miscellaneous personnel benefits fund, national disaster risk reduction and management fund, and pension and gratuity fund.
Meanwhile, allotment releases for automatic appropriations, or appropriations programmed annually or for some other period prescribed by law, rose to P1.07 trillion.
The department said these include 100 percent of the 2019 program for the internal revenue allotment of local governments, pension of ex-president/ex-president’s widows, special account in the general fund, net lending, interest payments, tax expenditures fund/customs duties and taxes, and retirement and life insurance premium (RLIP) requirements.
The P51.59 billion in payments for RLIP requirements released over the period are inclusive of P4.43 billion pertaining to additional requirements for newly-created or -filled positions in various agencies, resulting in a 109.4-percent release for the category, it added.
The Budget department also released P26.158 billion as of end-November from the continuing appropriations of the 2018 GAA for line departments and releases from SPFs.
It explained that continuing appropriations are appropriations available to support obligations for a specified purpose or project, such as multi-year construction projects that require the incurrence of obligations beyond one fiscal year,” the DBM added.
As for unprogrammed appropriations, P64.81 billion has been released. These standby appropriations authorize additional agency expenditures for priority programs and projects when revenue collections exceed the resource targets or when additional grants or foreign funds are generated.
Allotments for other automatic appropriations, amounting to P29.825 billion, have also been released.
“The immediate release of funds by the DBM will ensure that national government agencies are able to swiftly implement their programs and projects, such as the construction of new roads, schools and hospitals, and the protection and promotion of the welfare of the poor and marginalized sectors, among others,” the department said.