Government spending on infrastructure and other capital outlays fell by 16.9 percent to P70.5 billion in August, from P84.9 billion a year earlier, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
The DBM said disbursements by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) were held back by ongoing bidding for some projects and by P10 billion in checks to contractors and suppliers that had not yet been encashed. Flooding in parts of Luzon also slowed road and rail construction.
From January to August, infrastructure outlays dropped by 34.6 percent to P522 billion. The DBM linked the decline to stricter procurement compliance, project oversight and verification of payment claims, introduced after the flood-control controversy. Acting Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon had expected a third-quarter pickup, which has not yet shown in the data.
For contractors and suppliers, tighter checks mean slower payments. Overall government spending still rose by 8 percent to P4.27 trillion over the eight months.
