The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Tuesday said that government spending on social protection, such as the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and calamity funds, hit record increase of 70 percent to P36.6 billion in July this year compared to spending on the same period in 2014.
In its latest disbursement report, the DBM said Maintenance Expenditures increased by P15.1 billion to P36.6 billion to provide more funds for social protection, education and health-care programs.
Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said that increase in spending in social-development agencies supports the continuing expansion of our economy.
“We can also make sure that the poorest Filipinos get the education, aid and health-care services that are urgently due them,” Abad said in a news statement.
Based on July spending, the largest disbursements under the Maintenance Expenditures are intended for the poverty-alleviation program under the CCT of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
The increase in spending for Maintenance Expenditures also seek to support Emergency Shelter Assistance for calamity victims.
The increase in Maintenance Expenditures was also due to increase in spending for locally funded projects under the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
Most of the local-funded projects are focused on poverty reduction, which have been released on time through the Bottom Up Budgeting, one of the catch-up measures to bolster spending by agencies and departments.
These programs include priority projects of local government units that cover programs on peace-building, reconstruction and development projects in war-torn areas.
“We are optimistic that public spending will continue its upward trajectory in the succeeding months. As budget reforms gain further traction—and as our agencies find appropriate means to optimize their budgets—we can, likewise, bring the real and lasting benefits of good governance to our citizenry,” Abad said.