Govt Adds ₱220 Billion to 2022 Budget

The government has chosen to add ₱220 billion to the ₱5.02 trillion national budget for 2022.

Recent data taken from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) shows that the adjusted budget for 2022 had been updated as of October at ₱5.243 trillion.

From the ₱5.243 trillion, an estimated 97% or ₱5.084 trillion had been released since last October. With the added ₱220.176 billion, 81% of this, or ₱177.9 billion was allocated for unprogrammed appropriations.

Unprogrammed funds, which are a kind of standby appropriations, can be utilized when excess revenues are not generated and an appropriated item is found to be non-existent or deficient. This type of funding is also available during calamities or unexpected situations.

From the unprogrammed appropriations, the largest portion with ₱139 billion for foreign-assisted projects of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Health, Public Works, and Highways.

An additional ₱25.49 billion was set aside for social programs and infrastructure programs of the DA, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the DOTr.

Then ₱4 billion was given to the DA’s Philippine Rural Development Project for additional funding while ₱1.4 billion was allotted for the DOTr’s fuel subsidy program.

The remainder of the budget was given to the Department of Agrarian Reform for the parcelization of lands for individual titling and also for the Light Rail Transit Authority and the National Food Authority.

Under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2022, the DBM released ₱3.21 trillion, which would account for 96.1% of the total financing of ₱3.34 trillion. In the 2022 GAA, the DBM mentioned that they have distributed 97.8% of the ₱2.88 trillion.

Source: Philstar