DPWH drags infra spending in July

Due to slower spending by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), infrastructure and other capital outlays dropped by 25.3 percent to P93.3 billion in July from P124.9 billion in the same month last year.

- DERCO ROSAL

Infrastructure spending also declined by 37.3 percent from P148.8 billion in June.

According to the latest Department of Budget and Management (DBM) report published on Thursday, Sept. 25, this contraction was driven mainly by the “muted disbursement performance of the DPWH.”

Contributing to this drop were project scheduling, procurement holdups, and “delays or incomplete submission of progress billings and documentary requirements by contractors.”

Contractors’ compliance with the new Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) requirement of tax clearance for processing of final payments also contributed to the slower disbursements.

As such, infrastructure and other capital outlays pulled down overall capital outlays by 22.8 percent to P114.5 billion in July from P148.2 billion in the same month last year.

Capital transfers to local government units (LGUs) and equity were the other components of capital outlays, with the former dropping 8.6 percent to P21.2 billion from P23.2 billion last year, while there were zero funds disbursed for the latter.

Infrastructure spending also offset the slight one-percent increase in the national government’s (NG) overall spending during the month, at P491.2 billion from P486.2 billion a year earlier.