Gov’t releases nearly 88% of 2026 budget; DPWH picks up pace

MANILA, Philippines – The national government has now disbursed 87.7 percent of the P6.793-trillion 2026 national budget as of end-May, latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed.

The pace, however, remains slower than the 90.4 percent disbursement rate recorded in the same period last year, as the government scaled back releases to executive departments.

READ: Marcos approves P6.7 trillion worth of proposed national budget for 2026

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According to the DBM’s Status of Allotment Release, the government released a total of P5.958 trillion in the first five months of the year, leaving around P835 billion in unreleased allotments.

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The figure covers fund releases to various government agencies and budget items, including executive departments, special purpose funds and automatic appropriations.

Broken down, releases to executive departments reached P3.307 trillion, equivalent to 89.9 percent of their P3.677-trillion adjusted program. This is slower than the 93.7 percent pace last year.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which had been among the agencies lagging in releases since the start of the year, finally picked up its pace after receiving 96.6 percent, or P512 billion, of its P530.1-billion allocation.

The faster release comes as the government moves to accelerate spending in the second quarter, after infrastructure disbursements lagged in the previous quarter and contributed to the weak economic growth.

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Laggards

Meanwhile, three major agencies remained below the 80-percent release mark as of end-May.

The Department of Agriculture received only 63.6 percent, or P107.46 billion, of its P169-billion adjusted allotment. The Department of Labor and Employment, meanwhile, received 72.4 percent, or P44.3 billion, of its P61.2-billion program.

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The Department of Energy also posted a lower release rate at 78.8 percent, with P2.3 billion released out of its P2.9-billion adjusted budget.

Special purpose funds, which cover allocations for specific programs and projects outside regular agency budgets, recorded a release rate of 54.2 percent, or P389.6 billion out of P719.4 billion.

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Automatic appropriations, meanwhile, reached 89.6 percent or P2.15 trillion out of the P2.4-trillion program. Most items under this category have already been released, with remaining balances largely attributed to net lending, interest payments and tax expenditures, which have yet to record full releases. INQ