Infrastructure spending falls 40%

PHILIPPINE infrastructure spending fell for the fourth straight month in October, as disbursements for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) continued to decline amid the corruption scandal and adverse weather.

- By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante Reporter

The latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed expenditures on infrastructure and other capital outlays dropped by 40.1% to P65.9 billion in October from P110 billion a year ago.

Month on month, it also fell by 16.2% from P78.7 billion in September.

October marked the fourth straight month that expenditures fell on an annual basis, since the 25.3% drop in July after a corruption scandal involving flood control projects was made public.

The scandal has dampened economic activity and public spending, particularly on infrastructure.

The DBM said the year-on-year drop in infrastructure spending "resulted largely from the contraction in DPWH disbursements."

The DBM noted that the slower budget release for public works was due to "non-submission of billions from contractors amid ongoing validation of the status of implementation and completion of flood control projects."

The DPWH is at the center of a corruption scandal after department officials, lawmakers and contractors were accused of getting kickbacks from flood control projects that were either nonexistent or substandard.