DBM shortens agencies' budget utilization period to 1 year

The Department of Budget and Management has halved the period given to government agencies to utilize their budget allocations to only one year. The previous period given them to use their budget was two years, allowing them to carry over unused amounts to the following year. The shorter period will force agencies and departments to step up their absorptive capacities, said Budget Secretary Florencio Abad. “If you don’t use or obligate the budget allotted to you within the year, you lose it,” he said. Abad had previously noted that state offices' absorptive capacities were improving, in terms of release of allotments and cash disbursements, and helping the government in its goal to reach P1.839 trillion in expenditures for 2012. The shorter lapse period should also speed up the implementation of government projects, the Budget Secretary added. “This reform ought to induce better planning of programs and projects across the bureaucracy,” he said. It will also pave the way for the proposed “General Appropriations Act-as-Release-Document” reform measure, which will use the GAA as a budget release document to expedite the release of appropriations to government departments and agencies and make the process more transparent, said Abad. “At the moment, the process of releasing allotments to agencies can be elaborate and time-consuming. With the GAA standing as the overall release document, the release of allotments will be faster,” he said. The Budget Secretary said that spending is expected to surpass 2012 levels this year as the government strives to reach its official goal of 6 percent to 7 percent economic growth in 2013. — BM, GMA News