Infrastructure spending drops

MANILA — The country’s infrastructure spending dropped by 1.9 percent according to a data from the Department of Budget and Management.

Despite the need for more infrastructure, government spending still declined from P91.9 billion in January to April from P93.7 billion a year ago.

A 40.3 percent increase in the infrastructure spending was recorded in April from from P16.6 billion in the same month last year to P23.3 billion this year.

Despite this, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said that there is still a need to level-up spending to allow faster movement in the disbursements.

“Although spending for April grew year-on-year, much more needs to be done so that disbursements can move faster. Departments and agencies – particularly those with urgent, big-ticket items – should optimize their allocations so that we can look forward to more efficient spending and the faster delivery of services,” Abad said.

For 2015, the country has a target infrastructure outlays of P569.9 billion or 4 percent of gross domestic product.

“Agencies must continue to work with DBM in resolving issues that recur in procurement and project implementation. This way, the government can keep better pace with its spending targets,” he said.