PH Infrastructure Spending Still Down After 11 Months

MANILA, Philippines — Signs of a turnaround in the Marcos administration’s infrastructure spending were still elusive in May, nearly a year after it began to slide, as tighter oversight continued to delay payments for public works projects. Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed infrastructure and other capital outlays fell 35.3 percent to P80.1 billion in May from P123.8 billion in the same month last year, marking the 11th consecutive month of year-on-year declines. READ: PH infrastructure spending remained weak in April “The year-on-year decline primarily reflects the implementation of strengthened review, audit, and validation procedures for infrastructure payment claims, as well as documentary compliance requirements for contractors,” the DBM said. “These enhanced safeguards have affected the timing of some infrastructure disbursements, particularly on Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects,” it added, noting that the measures are in a bid to ensure the prudent use of public funds. The decline came despite the DPWH receiving P403.3 billion in allotments in May, which is already the bulk of its adjusted P530.1 billion budget for the year. From January to May, infrastructure spending dropped 42.9 percent to P269.4 billion from P471.5 billion a year earlier. Including estimated national government infrastructure disbursements and the infrastructure components of subsidies and equity to state-run firms as well as transfers to local government units (LGUs), infrastructure spending likewise fell 28.2 percent to P401.3 billion from P558.8 billion. Despite the weakness in infrastructure, overall government spending continued to pick up pace. National government disbursements rose 3.8 percent to P600.2 billion in May from P579.2 billion a year earlier, driven by higher maintenance and other operating expenses, transfers to LGUs, interest payments and personnel services. READ: Gov’t ramps up infrastructure spending to revive economy, Palace says This brought total government spending in the first five months to P2.596 trillion, up 4.8 percent from P2.477 trillion in the same period last year. The amount represents roughly 40 percent of the government’s revised P6.465-trillion spending program for 2026. Looking ahead, the government is expected to ramp up spending in the second half of the year after the DPWH received another P14.2 billion in allotments in June. The DBM also said disbursements were expected to accelerate, supported by the implementation of programs under the Unified Package for Livelihood, Industry, Food and Transport amid the Middle East war. INQ