BUSINESS
DBM: Proposed budget does not mean cash is available
‘Because in government budgeting, a big number should always come with an equally big responsibility to explain where it comes from, where it goes, and what the Filipino people get in return.’
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) clarified that the proposed national budget does not represent readily available cash, saying funding for major infrastructure projects remains subject to financing arrangements, approvals and other requirements.
In a Saturday news release, Acting Budget Secretary Kim Robert de Leon said a P10-billion funding proposal for a major project does not mean the government has already released or spent the same amount.
“Budgeting is not the same as spending. The NEP is the proposed budget. It is not a vault filled with cash,” De Leon said, referring to the National Expenditure Program.
The clarification covers foreign-assisted projects (FAPs), including railways, expressways and flood-control systems, whose funding may combine foreign loans and counterpart contributions from the Philippine government.
De Leon added that foreign assistance does not mean the entire cost of a project will be shouldered by another country or an international institution.
The DBM said the treatment of these funding requirements in the proposed budget depends on the status of financing arrangements. When financing agreements are completed and applicable conditions are met, the corresponding requirements may be included under Programmed Appropriations.
If foreign financing has yet to be finalized during budget preparation, the government counterpart may be included in the implementing agency’s proposed budget, while loan proceeds may be placed under Unprogrammed Appropriations for support to foreign-assisted projects.
The DBM emphasized that unprogrammed appropriations are standby budget authority, not funds that agencies can automatically access. Before funds can be released, implementing agencies must meet requirements under existing laws and budget rules, including submitting financing documents and securing the necessary approvals.
De Leon said the budget process requires the government to account for funding sources, how public money will be spent and the benefits projects will deliver.
“Because in government budgeting, a big number should always come with an equally big responsibility to explain where it comes from, where it goes, and what the Filipino people get in return,” he said.