'Congress underspending due to chamber recess'

The congressional recess may have caused the legislative department to become the top underspender in the first half of the year, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

- LOUISE MAUREEN SIMEON

During the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum yesterday, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman disclosed that the Congress of the Philippines recorded the lowest obligation rate among government agencies as of the end of June.

“I think this is because of the seasonality of operations,” Pangandaman said.

“Congress goes into recess. So I think that affects (spending),” she said.

Both the lower and the upper chambers of Congress are not in session for a month thrice a year.

Data from the DBM showed that allotment to Congress reached P50.24 billion as of the first semester, but the latter only obligated 8.8 percent or P4.44 billion during the period.