MANILA, Philippines — The government has released P5.72 trillion or 90 percent of the record P6.326 trillion allocation for this year as state agencies ramp up implementation of various programs.
Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that it has issued a total of P5.72 trillion of the 2025 budget as of end-May, representing 90.4 percent of the total allocation for the year.
The amount is significantly higher than the 88.7 percent in budget releases in the same period last year.
Data showed that the DBM released P3.76 trillion under the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA). This is 89.2 percent of the total P4.21 trillion financing.
Under the 2025 GAA, the DBM said it has distributed 93.7 percent or P3.45 trillion of the P3.69 trillion for departments.
In terms of special purpose funds, releases already increased to almost 58 percent as P306.48 billion was handed out from the P529.6 billion allocation.
On the other hand, automatic appropriations are at 90 percent or P1.9 trillion of the P2.12 trillion aggregate funding.
During the month, the government did not release additional funds for net lending as it remained at P21.53 billion or 75 percent of the total P28.7 billion.
The same goes with interest payments, which are stuck at 75 percent or P636.02 billion out of the total P848 billion.
Even before May, the agency already released the entire P1.03 trillion for the national tax allotment, the full P83.42 billion for the block grant, the complete P480,000 allocation for pension of former presidents or their widows, as well as the whole P37.35 billion in the special account in the general fund and the tax expenditure fund at P14.5 billion.
The DBM also freed up the entire P68.55 billion in retirement and life insurance premiums of state workers as early as January and added some P7.32 billion in extra funds last month.
Further, the DBM recorded P60.56 billion in other releases as of May, 60 percent or P35.46 billion of which went to other automatic appropriations.
There was also P13.28 billion released for unprogrammed appropriations.
Unprogrammed appropriations provide standby authority to incur additional agency obligations for priority programs or projects when revenue collection exceeds targets or when additional grants or foreign funds are generated.
Majority of the unprogrammed appropriations worth P7 billion was allocated to support the foreign-assisted projects of the departments of Agrarian Reform, Finance, Health and Transportation and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and Philippine Competition Commission.
The remaining P6.27 billion was earmarked to the National Food Authority as a form of budgetary support.