Gov’t infra spending fell by 27.7% in April to P85.8B
National government outlay for infrastructure fell by 27.8 percent year-on-year to P85.8 billion in April because of a ban on public spending during the election campaigns.
This is according to the latest data from the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC).
The significant drop “was due mostly to the muted infrastructure spending of the Department of Public Works and Highways, resulting from election-related prohibition on public spending for specific activities, goods or services, as well as lower volume of contractor billings.”
Still, the DBCC said in a report that the government revved up spending earlier this year in anticipation of the spending ban.
Another reason for the decrease was lower direct payments made by development partners for several foreign-assisted rail projects of the Department of Transportation.
Examples are the South Commuter Railway Project and the Metro Manila Subway Project. Support for these are coming from the Asian Development Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Also, less “releases for local counterpart funds contributed to the decline of infrastructure and other capital expenditures in April,” the DBCC said.
Overseen by the Office of the President, the DBCC comprises the Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance and Department of Economy, Planning and Development.
The committee primarily reviews and approves the government’s macroeconomic targets, revenue projections, borrowing level, aggregate budget level and expenditure priorities.
The DBCC said in a report the decrease of spending in April was mainly on account of lower infrastructure and other capital outlays, interest payments, and subsidy support to government corporations.
In addition, interest payments for the national government’s financial obligations shrank by 31.2 percent to P46.4 billion in April.
The DBCC said this was mainly due to a change in the timing or schedule of coupon and loan payments. These were slated in March this year, earlier than the April schedule last year.
Further, subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations plunged by 47.5 percent to P14.5 billion.
The reason cited was the decrease in fund releases to the National Irrigation Administration and National Housing Authority.
In light of these, the national government’s spending in April decreased by 8 percent year-on-year to P454.8 billion from P494.5 billion a year ago.
“Nonetheless, spending as of end-April 2025 still posted a 11.6-percent expansion to reach P1,899 billion [or about P1.9 trillion],” the report said.
