Budget releases, utilization up in Q1

The government increased its releases of cash allocations with state agencies as of the first quarter following the record P5.768-trillion budget this year.

-  LOUISE MAUREEN SIMEON

Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that the notices of cash allocation (NCAS) jumped by 12.5 percent to P959.74 billion from January to March compared to last year's P852.79 billion.

This resulted in a higher utilization rate of 99 percent from 98 percent in the first quarter of 2023.

This means that of the total releases, P952.65 billion was utilized and only some P7.09 billion was unused as of end-March.

NCAs are disbursement orders by the DBM to government banks servicing the release of funds to agencies. State agencies are expected to use the NCAs to pay for the cash requirements of their programs and projects.

A higher utilization ratio indicates greater capacity of agencies to implement their programs and projects.