Government infrastructure spending declined for the third consecutive month in September, plummeting by 42.6 percent. This significant drop comes amid heightened scrutiny of public works projects, primarily due to an ongoing flood control corruption scandal.
According to recent data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), spending on infrastructure and other capital outlays fell to P78.7 billion in September. This is a sharp decrease from the P137.1 billion disbursed during the same period last year.
Furthermore, the trend extends beyond a single month. For the entire January to September period, infrastructure spending contracted by 10.7 percent, reaching P877.1 billion. Consequently, this figure falls short of the government’s P1-trillion spending program for the first three quarters of the year.
The slump in infrastructure investment has also weighed on the nation’s overall fiscal performance. As a result, while total government spending from January to September grew by 5.2 percent to P4.48 trillion, it still missed its P4.64-trillion target by 3.4 percent. This leaves approximately P206.3 billion that must be disbursed before the year ends.
So, what is the primary cause of this decline? The DBM has explicitly pointed to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) as the main contributor. Specifically, the agency’s “weaker performance” is cited as the largest factor behind the overall infrastructure spending slump, linking the data directly to recent controversies.
