By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante, Reporter
STATE SPENDING on infrastructure slumped in April on account of the election ban on disbursements for public works projects, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
In its latest disbursement report on Tuesday, the DBM reported that spending on infrastructure and other capital outlays declined by 27.8% to P85.8 billion in April from P118.9 billion in the identical month last yr.
“This was due mostly to the muted infrastructure spending of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), resulting from election-related prohibition on public spending for specific activities, goods, or services, in addition to lower volume of contractor billings,” the DBM said.
Government agencies likely frontloaded and accelerated the implementation of infrastructure projects earlier this yr, the DBM said.
The Commission on Elections implemented a 45-day ban on the discharge, disbursement or expenditures of public funds from March 28 to May 11.
The elections were held on May 12.
The DBM also attributed the decline in infrastructure spending to lower direct payments for foreign-assisted rail projects of the Department of Transportation, in addition to the releases for local counterpart funds.
These rail projects include the South Commuter Railway Project and the Metro Manila Subway Project.
For the primary 4 months of the yr, infrastructure spending rose by 3.6% to P347.6 billion from P335.7 billion in the identical period in 2024.
The DBM attributed the rise in infrastructure spending to the “robust spending performance of the DPWH for the implementation of assorted infrastructure projects, right-of-way settlements, and payment of progress billings (i.e., partially accomplished works) and accounts payables.”
Meanwhile, overall infrastructure disbursements inched up by 2.4% to P419.4 billion within the January-to-April period from P409.7 billion a yr ago.
This includes infrastructure components of subsidy/equity to government corporations and transfers to local government units.
Analysts said infrastructure spending will likely pick up in the subsequent few months.
“We may expect infrastructure spending to proceed ramping up to spice up the economy each through higher spending and employment in the development sector, but in addition higher economic activity comes with higher infrastructure,” Oikonomia Advisory & Research, Inc. economist Reinielle Matt M. Erece said.
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman earlier said infrastructure-related disbursements would likely increase after the election ban ended.
Rizal Industrial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said government spending, particularly on infrastructure, can be a significant contributor to overall economic growth.
“Infrastructure spending has been prioritized and increased in recent times to five%-6% of GDP (gross domestic product), much higher vs. below 2% of GDP about 20-30 years ago,” he said in a Viber message.
For this yr, the federal government’s infrastructure program is ready at P1.538 trillion, comparable to 5.4% of total output.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee earlier said infrastructure spending will probably be sustained at 5-6% of GDP annually.