Government agencies used up 99 percent of their cash allocation from January to March this year, the same rate as that in the comparable period last year, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
Data available on the DBM website on Thursday showed that in the first three months of 2025, the notice of cash allocation (NCA) had a utilization rate of P1.122 trillion, out of the P1.13 trillion released for the period.
The unutilized NCA during the period amounted to P8.573 billion, the DBM said.
In the comparable first quarter of 2024 when the utilization rate also stood at 99 percent, the NCA was significantly lower at P959.74 billion, of which P952.65 was utilized.
A higher NCA utilization rate demonstrates the capacity of line agencies to quickly disburse their allocated funds and implement their programs and projects, the DBM said.
“This means they were able to pay for goods and services delivered and rendered,” DBM Assistant Secretary Rhea Dela Vega told Malaya Business Insight on Thursday.
Dela Vega said that since agencies pay or disburse funds only for those accounts which are due and demandable, that means the various creditors/providers have been able to deliver their services, and these were inspected and accepted by the agencies, hence, paid for.
“Thus, the implementation of the projects or activities can be assumed as going on smoothly on the part of the agencies,” Dela Vega said.
Line departments utilized P797.376 billion of the P804.604 billion in NCAs released to them in January to March 2025, equivalent to a 99 percent NCA utilization rate.
Regarding NCAs released for budgetary support to government-owned and -controlled corporations for the year, 100 percent was utilized, equivalent to P34.102 billion, while 100 percent of the NCA released to local government units was also used up, amounting to P290.368 billion, Dela Vega added.
Michael Ricafort, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist, reacted positively to the high utilization rate, saying it may also have to do with the upcoming midterm elections, when state agencies are expected to expedite the completion of various infrastructure projects as voters look for accomplishments in deciding whom to elect.
“The various government agencies should have (also) learned already to further increase budget utilization, amid the policy to use the budget or lose it,” Ricafort said.
“(This is) especially after the learning curve of using more budget items shifted to the localities from the national government in recent months/years,” he added.
Ricafort said that faster government spending, especially on infrastructure, would support faster economic growth, as the government picks up lessons from the underspending recorded years back, which dragged the economy’s performance.
