The government already spent in 11 months P1.02 trillion of its commitment to spend P1.33 trillion in various public infrastructures in 2023, Budget Secretary Mina F. Pangandaman said on Sunday.
This compared against infrastructure spending of only P861.8 billion in 2022.
This also translates to an increase of P159.8 billion or 18.5 percent in infrastructure spending during the period.
“Government spending is vital to national growth. Thus, to help buttress robust economic growth, government agencies must continue to execute their programs and projects as authorized in the annual budget and deliver planned results in a timely manner,” Pangandaman said.
The increase was traced to disbursements made by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to cover various priority projects; and capital outlays, such as construction, rehabilitation, renovation, repair, and improvement of roads and bridges, as well as flood control structures. The implementation of various rail transport foreign-assisted projects of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) also contributed significantly to the growth of infrastructure spending.
To continue the infrastructure development through the Build, Better, More program, total infrastructure outlays have been allocated with P1.510 trillion in the enacted FY 2024 budget. This is P180 million higher than the P1.330 trillion amount allotted for infrastructure in the 2023 GAA.
“Under the guidance of President Bongbong Marcos, we will continue to provide the much-needed budget to support the Build, Better, More program. The DBM likewise commits to help ramp up infrastructure spending by urging all government agencies to disburse and utilize their infrastructure budget efficiently and promptly. Every peso in our national budget should be spent effectively for the benefit of our economy and, most importantly, the Filipino people,” Mina added.
The Build, Better, More program aims to expand the country’s infrastructure by developing road, rail, mass transport, and flood control infrastructure projects to allow for growth in far-flung municipalities, as espoused by the President’s vision of a Bagong Pilipinas.
This infrastructure allocation is equivalent to 5.5% of the country’s projected GDP for this year, well within the 5.0 to 6.0 percent target of the government. This includes the Public Sector Infrastructure budget of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and DPWH amounting to P26.580 billion and P981.999 billion, respectively.
