“The Filipino people deserve public services that they can depend on,” Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said “Given this, the Department of Budget and Management has released nearly all 2018 appropriations for line agencies to spend appropriately for their programs, activities, and projects.” he added

98.5%, or PhP 3.711 trillion, of the PhP 3.767 trillion national budget for fiscal year 2018 has been released as of December 31, 2018, according to preliminary data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The total release includes allotment releases to line departments, Special Purpose Funds releases, releases from automatic appropriations, among other releases.

Allotment releases to the line departments have reached PhP 2.257 trillion, or 98.5% of the programmed budget for government agencies. These include funds allocated for departments of the Executive branch, Congress, the Judiciary, and other constitutional offices.

Allotment releases issued by the DBM, enable agencies to incur obligations to finance the delivery of public services, such as roads and bridges, health and education services, and poverty reduction programs and projects.

Fund releases from Special Purpose Funds (SPFs) totalled PhP 441.6 billion, or 89.3% of the allocation for SPFs in the 2018 national budget. Significant releases came from Budgetary Support to Government Corporations, the Pension and Gratuity Fund, the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund, and the Allocation to Local Government Units (LGUs).

Automatic Appropriations

On the other hand, 99.1% of automatic appropriations—or those for programs and projects budgeted in the annual spending program by virtue of legislation—have also been released. This amounts to PhP 971.5 billion.

The Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) for local governments has been released in its entirety, while interest payments and the retirement and life insurance premiums of government personnel comprise a significant portion of total releases under automatic appropriations.

Other Releases

Under continuing appropriations of the 2017 national budget, PhP 4.8 billion have been released to the Department of National Defense for the Revised AFP Modernization Program.

In addition, unprogrammed appropriations amounting to PhP 30.3 billion have been released in order to finance the following:

• foreign-assisted projects, infrastructure projects, and social programs of the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and other agencies amounting to PhP 25.7 billion,

• general fund adjustments totalling PhP 2.2 billion,

• and the Bangon Marawi fund of the National Housing Authority consisting of PhP 2.4 billion.

Lastly, PhP 6.5 billion under other automatic appropriations have been released originating from grants and donations, the Military Camps Sales Proceeds Fund, the AFP Modernization Program, among others.

“It is our responsibility here at the DBM to ensure the steady provision of public funds to the line agencies for the implementation of their programs and projects,” budget secretary Benjamin Diokno said “The Filipino people deserve nothing less than what they have paid for,” he concluded.

PhP 42.6 billion of the 2018 national budget, which comprises of funds for maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and capital outlays (CO), will be carried forward this year due to the extension of the validity of appropriations until the end of 2019.

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