Overspending won't be tolerated, Diokno assures
Published Nov 23, 2018 12:00 am
By Chino S. Leyco
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said yesterday that the government will be prudent in fund disbursements as the Duterte administration would not allow an out of control overspending.
Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno
In a briefing, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said that a well-above programmed disbursements happened during the Arroyo administration will not be repeated under President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s watch.
After the government resolved the issue on chronic underspending of the Aquino administration, Diokno pointed out that the 2.6 percent above-target disbursements registered in the first nine months this year was mainly due to “seasonality.”
Diokno said the Duterte administration frontloaded its infrastructure spending in the first three quarters, thus disbursement is expected to slowdown in the final three months of 2018.
“This just reflects the seasonality of public spending. The best time to spend money for infrastructure is during the first six-months of the year, those are the dry months,” Diokno told reporters.
“Because we have overspent in the first three quarters, in the fourth quarter there’s going to be a slowdown because we have released what was supposed to be released for the whole year,” he added.
Actual spending by the national government stood at P2.49 trillion in January to September this year, higher by 2.6 percent compared with the P2.427-trillion program. Year-on-year, total disbursements were also up by 23.6 percent.
“We’re confident that revenues will be higher while spending will slowdown in the fourth quarter,” he said. “This is the first time that the government overspent, as you know we can't spend more than what Congress has allowed us to spend, that’s given.”
Diokno also reiterated that the Duterte administration will keep the government’s budget deficit within this year’s ceiling of three percent of the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP).
He, meanwhile, shrugged off fears that the chronic deficit spending incurred during the Arroyo administration could happen again under Duterte’s term.
“That won’t happen,” Diokno said, citing the Arroyo administration had done “many violations, I would say” in interpreting budget laws.
“If you recall there were four times that the budget was reenacted, and they had this funny interpretation that whatever they have released already, they will add that to the others, so to that’s the reason of their overspending,” he added.
“That will not happen under this administration,” the budget chief assured.
In 2009, Diokno estimated that former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s chronic above-target disbursements during her eight years in office ballooned the government’s national debt to P4.2 trillion, from just around P2.2 billion.
Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno
In a briefing, Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said that a well-above programmed disbursements happened during the Arroyo administration will not be repeated under President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s watch.
After the government resolved the issue on chronic underspending of the Aquino administration, Diokno pointed out that the 2.6 percent above-target disbursements registered in the first nine months this year was mainly due to “seasonality.”
Diokno said the Duterte administration frontloaded its infrastructure spending in the first three quarters, thus disbursement is expected to slowdown in the final three months of 2018.
“This just reflects the seasonality of public spending. The best time to spend money for infrastructure is during the first six-months of the year, those are the dry months,” Diokno told reporters.
“Because we have overspent in the first three quarters, in the fourth quarter there’s going to be a slowdown because we have released what was supposed to be released for the whole year,” he added.
Actual spending by the national government stood at P2.49 trillion in January to September this year, higher by 2.6 percent compared with the P2.427-trillion program. Year-on-year, total disbursements were also up by 23.6 percent.
“We’re confident that revenues will be higher while spending will slowdown in the fourth quarter,” he said. “This is the first time that the government overspent, as you know we can't spend more than what Congress has allowed us to spend, that’s given.”
Diokno also reiterated that the Duterte administration will keep the government’s budget deficit within this year’s ceiling of three percent of the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP).
He, meanwhile, shrugged off fears that the chronic deficit spending incurred during the Arroyo administration could happen again under Duterte’s term.
“That won’t happen,” Diokno said, citing the Arroyo administration had done “many violations, I would say” in interpreting budget laws.
“If you recall there were four times that the budget was reenacted, and they had this funny interpretation that whatever they have released already, they will add that to the others, so to that’s the reason of their overspending,” he added.
“That will not happen under this administration,” the budget chief assured.
In 2009, Diokno estimated that former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s chronic above-target disbursements during her eight years in office ballooned the government’s national debt to P4.2 trillion, from just around P2.2 billion.