Road repairs lift infrastructure spending in August

MANILA, Philippines – Government spending on infrastructure and other capital outlays surged by 18.1% in August, mainly lifted by efforts to complete road repair and flood control projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

A report from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that disbursements for infrastructure and other capital outlays in August stood at P40.1 billion, up 18.1% from the P34 billion spent in the same month a year ago.

This supports the increase in total spending for August, which grew by 13.9% from the same month last year.

The DBM said the infrastructure expenditures in August included “payments for completed infrastructure projects” of the DPWH, as well as “capital outlay projects” of the Department of Education (DepEd) and Department of Health (DOH).

8-month results

From January to August this year, infrastructure spending grew by 11.9% to P377.6 billion, from the P301.7 billion recorded in the same period in 2016.

Total government spending for the 8-month period grew by 9.8% to P1.8 trillion, from P1.6 trillion in the same period last year. (READ: World Bank cuts Philippine GDP forecast again)

The DBM said the “upswing in infrastructure and other capital outlays resulted from the implementation of public infrastructure projects of the DPWH and Department of Transportation.”

The budget department also attributed the increase in infrastructure spending to “capital outlay projects in state universities and colleges,” the upgrade of the DOH’s health facilities, as well as the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

The DBM added that the disbursements for September are seen to be substantial, owing to the huge infrastructure spending requirements of the DPWH.  

“The growth rate, however, is projected to be moderate in view of the one-off P20.5 billion just compensation to PIATCO Incorporated, which was paid in September of  the previous year in connection with the expropriation case of the NAIA Terminal 3,” the budget department said.

“Nonetheless, the payment for the right-of-way claims for various DPWH projects, as well as the procurement for the respective modernization programs of the DND-AFP and DILG-Philippine National Police are already ongoing following the release of their allotments in August this year,” it added.

The DBM said these are expected to further increase disbursement levels in the succeeding months. – Rappler.com