DOF names 'slowest' agencies in spending

MANILA - Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno has instructed government agencies to produce catch-up plans on expenditure, citing the Department of Communications and Technology as among the “slowest” in terms of budget spending.

“We talked to agencies and asked them to come up with their own catch-up plan. The problem there is that they are underspending, right? While the budget has increased significantly this year, they are still not spending,” Diokno said in a briefing.

The Department of Transportation was also flagged by Diokno as among the infrastructure agencies that slowed down on expenditure.

“The weather is crazy right? But they are forecasting El Nino so we’re still optimistic they will catch up. For example, the DOTr, the railway going to Subic kind of slowed down so we have to accelerate,” Diokno said.

Government spending in the first half of 2023 had a 0.42 percent reduction compared to the same period last year.

“Revenue side, we’re okay. It’s really on the spending side. Hindi naman Malaki ang underspending. This time, I think it’s just a matter of procurement delays,” Diokno said.

Diokno also said that the current administration may still be in the transition phase which might explain the underspending in agencies.

“May mga adjustment, let’s call it birth pains. Minsan kasi, Congress makes a lot of changes in the budget, There are new projects introduced in the budget. And since they are new, they might not have the feasibility study so you cannot start building. I think that’s one of the reasons,” Diokno said.

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