MANILA — The Philippine government had unutilized appropriations of nearly P248 billion in 2022, a think tank of the House of Representatives said.
"In 2022, total unused appropriations reached P247.9 billion, which is 6.9 percent of total available appropriations for the year. It is slightly lower than the 2021 level of P251.6 billion," the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department said in a paper published on its website.
The think tank also found that P36.8 billion or 1 percent of total appropriations was unreleased by the DBM, while P211.2 billion or 5.9 percent was unobligated.
Unobligated expenses usually come from projects that have not been bid out or procured yet.
The total available appropriations for 2022 was P3.6 trillion. The 2022 budget has a 2-year validity period that will expire on December 31, 2023, with the funding for personnel services exempted.
Latest data from the DBM website, meanwhile, showed that as of June 30, 2023, total unobligated allotments stood at P2.1 trillion, while unreleased appropriation stood was at P672 billion.
During the recently concluded budget deliberations, lawmakers prodded agencies to implement catchup plans to boost utilization of government resources.
As with the 2022 budget, the 2023 budget has a 2-year spending validity except for personnel services.
— Report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News