The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) yesterday bared the top spenders of the 2024 budget as of June 30, 2024 during the Senate Finance Committee’s deliberations on the proposed 2025 national budget.
The top 10 agencies with the highest obligation rates are the following:
* Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity
* National Intelligence Coordinating Agency
* Department of Public Works and Highways
* Department of Finance
* Department of Foreign Affairs
* Department of the Interior and Local Government
* Commission on Elections
* Department of National Defense
* Department of Transportation
* Department of Agriculture
Meanwhile, the 10 agencies with the lowest utilization rates are:
* Department of Justice
* Office of the Vice President
* Department of Labor and Employment
* Office of the President
* Philippine Sports Commission
* Department of Energy
* Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development
* Department of Migrant Workers
* Commission on Higher Education
* Congress of the Philippines
In her speech, DBM Secretary Amenah Pangandaman explained why it is important to track the spending patterns of agencies.
“Budget utilization is always a major consideration and we note that as of June 30, 2024, 65.4 percent of the P5.652 trillion allotment from FY 2024 National Budget and FY 2023 continuing appropriations has been obligated. Out of the P5.6 trillion allotment, some P4.1 trillion has been released to national government agencies to implement their programs and projects, 53.8 percent of which has been obligated,” Pangandaman explained.
“High budget utilization rate reflects the agency’s absorptive capacity to utilize additional funds,” she added.
Pangandaman said they have asked those lagging behind to catch up.
“Meanwhile a low budget utilization rate reflects the agency’s limited capacity to spend more funds, hence just last month, we issued circular letter 2024-12 requiring agencies with low obligation rates to submit their respective catch-up plans to improve the delivery of public goods and services,” Pangandaman also said.
The DBM chief likewise bared that for the 2025 budget, the DBM received budget proposals totaling to P9.2 trillion.
She also explained that a huge chunk of the budget for next year will be regionalized.
“Of the proposed 2025 fiscal year 2025 budget, P4.057 trillion or 63.9 percent will be directly allocated to the regions. Of this amount, NCR will be allocated with P857.9 billion, Luzon with P1.538 trillion, Visayas with P721 billion, and Mindanao with P940.3 billion,” Pangandaman said.
She added: “The remaining 36.1 percent or P2.295 trillion pertains to the non-regionalized budget. This is composed of the nationwide and central office allocations amounting to P1.725 trillion and P570.3 billion respectively.”
The top 10 departments and agencies with the largest allocation in the expenditure program are the following:
* Education (Department of Education, State Universities and Colleges, Commission on Higher Education, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) – P977.6 billion
* Health – P297.6 billion
* Interior and Local Government – P278.4 billion
* Defense – P256.1 billion
* Social Welfare – P230.1 billion
* Agriculture – P211.3 billion
* Transportation – P180.9 billion
* Judiciary – P63.6 billion
* Justice – P40.6 billion (ABS-CBN News)
