The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported Friday it had released 92.3% ( P3.78-trillion) of the P4.10-trillion national budget for 2020 as of June 30.
According to DBM, 92.3% of the budget released from January to June is an improvement compared with the 85.5% of allocations released in the same period last year.
The significant percentage of budget disbursement showed the government’s commitment to continuously allocated funds for different projects and programs despite its ongoing battle against the pandemic, the DBM added.
As of June 30, DBM released 79.8% of allotment to line departments worth P2.08-trillion and include budget allocated for agencies in the Executive branch, Congress, the Judiciary, and other constitutional offices.
A remaining P526.31-billion balance was left for later release.
Meanwhile, DBM released half of the programmed P467.9-billion appropriations for Special Purpose Funds (SPFs) allotments amounting to P234.45-billion.
SPFs are funds allocations in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) allotted for specific socio-economic purposes such as Allocation to Local Government Units, Contingent Fund, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, Budgetary Support to Government Corporations, Pension and Gratuity Fund, and Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund.
Meanwhile, allotment releases for automatic appropriations, or appropriations already prescribed by laws other than the GAA, reached P1.26-trillion.
“These include 100% of the FY 2020 program for the Internal Revenue Allotment of local government units, Block Grant for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Special Account in the General Fund, Net Lending, Interest Payments, and Tax Expenditures Fund/Customs Duties and Taxes,” the DBM said.
DBM said it has also released P63.62-billion as of June 30 from the continuing appropriations of the Fiscal Year 2019 GAA for line departments and releases from SPFs.
The agency also said P149.77-billion had been released for unprogrammed appropriations.
Unprogrammed appropriations “are standby appropriations which authorize additional agency expenditures for priority programs and projects when revenue collections exceed the resource targets or when additional grants or foreign funds are generated.”
The DBM assured that it would continue to release the remaining national budget for 2020 to sustain the operations of national government agencies, particularly those who are involved in COVID-19 efforts.
As of June 24, the DBM said P374.89-billion had been released for various COVID-19 programs and interventions.