Cash utilization by government agencies for full-year 2024 reached 99 percent, up slightly from the 98 utilization rate posted in 2023, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported yesterday.
Just last month, the DBM reported that in January 2025, government agencies used up their budget allocations faster than a year earlier, sending the utilization rate up to 78 percent.
Data available on the DBM website as of Monday showed that for the entire 2024, the notice of cash allocation (NCA) utilization rate corresponds to P4.83 trillion, out of the P4.903 trillion released for the period.
A higher NCA utilization rate demonstrates the capacity of line agencies to quickly disburse their allocated funds and implement their programs and projects. The unutilized NCAs in 2024 totaled P72.058 billion.
Line departments utilized P3.652 trillion of the P3.722 trillion in NCAs released to them in 2024, equivalent to a 98 percent NCA utilization rate.
As for NCAs released for budgetary support to government-owned and -controlled corporations for the year, 99 percent was utilized, equivalent to P146.725 billion, while 100 percent of the NCA released as allocations to local government units was used up, amounting to P1.032 trillion.
Budget use ahead of elections
Michael Ricafort, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist, told Malaya Business Insight he sees the higher utilization rate in 2024 versus the previous year as part of the preparations for the May 12, 2025 midterm-elections, particularly before the election ban, to expedite various government projects, especially infrastructure and programs as basis for accomplishments to be considered by voters.
“Also … the higher utilization rate would lead to faster government spending, and overall economic growth,” Ricafort added.
