Key agencies’ spending slips

Second-quarter GDP growth to take a hit
 
THE Philippine economy may not pick up in the second quarter of the year as four agencies tasked to stimulate growth failed to disburse funds for infrastructure projects.

Documents from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) showed that of the P94.71-billion budget for infrastructure projects committed in January by four agencies, only 33 percent, or P31 billion was disbursed.

Agencies that were supposed to frontload are the Departments of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), of Agriculture (DA), and of Education (DepEd).

Malacañang had ordered agencies to spend 60 percent to 80 percent of the productive portion of their allocation in the first half of the year, with particular focus on infrastructure.

The planned front loading and spending for the first half of this year is expected to boost private sector confidence in the economy.

Of the P62.79 billion to be disbursed in the first half, DPWH spent only 33 percent or, P20.83 billion as of June, while the DOTC, 8 percent of the total P12.98 billion allocation.

The DA disbursed 50 percent of its P16.15 billion commitment for infrastructure projects, while DepEd spent 31.4 percent of its P2.8 billion.

In terms of physical accomplishment, DPWH bid out a total of 1,572 projects. Of the total, 403 projects were completed, 1,090 were ongoing, and the remaining yet to start. A total of 84,241 workers were employed by these projects.

For DA, a total of 380.3 kilometers of farm-to-market roads were constructed or rehabilitated. Irrigation projects rehabilitated or restored involved 91,278 hectares of service area. Funds for the flatbet drying systems and agriculture tramline systems were still for transfer.

The DepEd constructed 943 new classrooms and repaired 1,761 existing ones. The agency also completed 3,912 new toilets and repaired 175 existing ones.

The DOTC accomplished 33.51 percent of Laguindingan Airport as against the target of 24.05 percent. The Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT 1) North Extension Project is 20.09 percent complete as against the target of 27.50 percent. Meanwhile, 3.88 hectares have been acquired for the LRT Line 1 South Extension Project.

In the first half of last year, the government, which accounted for 20 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), spent only 30 percent of its budget.

An indicator of economic performance, GDP is the amount of final goods and services produced in the country.

The Arroyo administration earlier unveiled a P330-billion stimulus package to pump-prime the economy by quickly disbursing the P1.4-trillion national budget amid the global economic crisis.

The Economic Resiliency Plan aims to save and create jobs, protect the poorest of the poor, returning overseas Filipinos and workers in export industries, ensure low and stable prices to support consumer spending, and enhance competitiveness in preparation for the global rebound.

In the first quarter of the year, Philippine GDP grew by only 0.4 percent, sharply down from 3.9 percent in the same period last year.
The first-quarter GDP was the weakest since the fourth quarter of 1998, when the economy contracted by 2.4 percent.

On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter basis, the economy contracted by 2.3 percent in the first quarter, the lowest in 20 years. –Darwin G. Amojelar, Senior Reporter, Manila Times