Gov't ramps up Q3 infra spending

The government has programmed P419.9 billion in infrastructure spending for the third quarter, the biggest quarterly infra disbursement for 2025, at a time when allegedly fraudulent flood control projects are taking the spotlight amid concerns about some wasteful and corruption-laden public expenditures.

- By BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

The national government's quarterly fiscal program, approved by the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) last June, showed that following P317.5 billion in infrastructure spending in the first quarter, higher disbursements of P400.5 billion and P374.9 billion are targeted for the second and fourth quarters, respectively.

Based on historical DBCC data, the third-quarter infrastructure spending plan is the second-highest quarterly allotment ever, only exceeded by the P421.3-billion infrastructure program for the second quarter of 2024.

The DBCC defines the infrastructure program as inclusive of the national government's infra disbursements, infrastructure components of subsidy and equity to government-owned and/or-controlled corporations (GOCCs), and transfers to local government units (LGUs).

In all, the government is spending a total of P1.51 trillion on public infrastructure development this year, equivalent to 5.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

As Manila Bulletin reported earlier, the Marcos Jr. administration plans to further ramp up infrastructure spending in 2026, with a record P1.56 trillion set aside for its centerpiece "Build Better More" (BBM) program under the proposed P6.793-trillion 2026 national budget.

The 2026 infrastructure program is equivalent to 5.1 percent of GDP, lower than the programmed 2025 ratio and the 5.8 percent recorded in 2024.