Philippines on track for P1.3 trillion infrastructure spending goal

MANILA, Philippines — The government is on track to meet its P1.3 trillion infrastructure spending program this year, despite a five-month slide in public works disbursements, as it remains a key engine for the economy’s rebound, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said. “We’re on track to that. We’re trying to accomplish that,” Acting Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon told reporters on the sidelines of a World Bank event. Latest DBM data showed infrastructure spending fell by 42.9 percent to P269.4 billion in the January to May period, from P471.5 billion in the same period last year. This marked the fifth straight monthly decline for this year alone. The DBM said the decline largely reflects the implementation of enhanced governance measures and stricter review and validation procedures for infrastructure projects, following the government’s intensified efforts to strengthen accountability and ensure the prudent use of public funds. These measures have affected the timing of some Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) infrastructure disbursements while reinforcing safeguards for public spending. In January, former Acting Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo announced that the government lowered its infrastructure spending program to P1.3 trillion, or equivalent to 4.3 percent of gross domestic product. De Leon said the agency has released the appropriated funds, leaving it to implementing offices to deploy them, as the government banks on spending to drive economic recovery from the drag of the Middle East war and the lingering impact of the flood control scandal. “The economic managers, we have a common resolution that we are really to monitor and ensure that our infrastructure spending will push through as planned. It won’t happen again like it did in 2025,” he said. The DBM released P403.3 billion in allotments for various DPWH infrastructure projects in May. De Leon also said that agencies must accelerate procurement to implement projects on time and as part of the government’s catch-up in the latter half of the year. The DBM chief did not provide further details on the 2027 infrastructure program. Finance Secretary Frederick Go said the goal is to resume all government disbursements, especially on infrastructure spending, in the second half of this year. “We are determined to resume public infrastructure spending and get it back on track and get our previous growth rates in the second half of this year,” Go said in a separate event.