SPENDING on infrastructure rose 17.9% in March, as disbursements for public works projects ramped up, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.
In a disbursement report, the DBM said spending on infrastructure and other capital outlays rose to P113.5 billion in March, against P96.3 billion a year earlier.
Month on month, infrastructure spending rose 21.1% from February.
The DBM said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) aggressively implemented its projects, including “payment of progress billing and accounts payable, Right-of Way settlements, and the release of final payments and retention releases for completed projects.”
Its disbursements were applied to payments for the design and construction of bridges, flood management projects, administrative and healthcare facilities, and air passenger terminals.
Other projects include road rehabilitation and the development of access roads and bridges under the Convergence and Special Support Program.
Among big-ticket items, the DPWH disbursed P570.2 billion for “various capital outlays.”
“This latest increase could be attributed to increased midterm election-related infrastructure spending before the election ban, though some infrastructure projects were already exempted from the ban,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said via Viber.
In the first three months of the year, infrastructure spending totaled P261.8 billion, up 20.8% from a year earlier.
Overall infrastructure disbursements, which include infrastructure components of subsidy/equity to government corporations and transfers to local government units, rose 20.8% to P261.8 billion during the quarter.
Government spending accounted for three percentage points of the 5.4% economic growth posted in the first quarter.
The Department of Economy, Planning, and Development has said that the 18.7% increase in government spending drove 5.4% GDP growth, the strongest reading since the second quarter of 2020.
“For the second quarter, disbursements are seen picking up towards the end of May as the election-related ban on public works and spending ends,” the DBM said.
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman has said that a temporary slowdown can be expected in April due to the effect of the election ban.
“The implementation of massive infrastructure projects, governance reforms and investments in human capital are expected to sustain the strong spending performance recorded in the first quarter. This will hopefully help translate to improved economic growth for the rest of the year,” the DBM said.
In 2025, the government budgeted P1.54 trillion in infrastructure spending, equivalent to 5.4% of GDP. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante