Half of National Allotment already committed, says Budget Department

About half of the P6.257-trillion allotment for 2025 has been obligated in the first half of the year, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

During a briefing to the Senate Committee on Finance, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman reported that 56.1 percent, or P3.509 trillion, of the total budget including continuing appropriations from 2024 had been obligated as of end-June.

Of the P4.304 trillion released to national government agencies, 54.8 percent (P2.359 trillion) was already committed. Pangandaman assured lawmakers that the department would “continue to closely monitor budget utilization and proactively implement measures to improve execution and service delivery.”

Special Purpose Funds (SPFs), which include allocations for disaster management, pensions, support to state firms, and transfers to local governments, posted a 56.6 percent obligation rate, amounting to P732.62 billion. State-owned corporations recorded a 100 percent utilization of their P153.92 billion budget, while local government units had committed just over half of their P1.135 trillion allocation.

Automatic appropriations, primarily for debt servicing, reached a 63.4 percent obligation rate. Of the P636.02 billion allotted for interest payments, P414.82 billion or 65.2 percent was obligated by mid-year.

Meanwhile, net lending stood at a modest 10.6 percent utilization, with P2.27 billion obligated out of P21.53 billion released.

Of the total allotments released so far, P5.813 trillion came from the 2025 budget, while P443.57 billion was sourced from continuing appropriations. Exactly half of these continuing funds, or P221.98 billion, had been obligated as of June.

The mid-year figures underscore the government’s effort to sustain fiscal discipline while ensuring that agencies and local governments accelerate program implementation in the second half of 2025.