Infrastructure spending declines for fifth straight month in Nov.

Government infrastructure spending fell further in November as the flood control project scandal continued to unfold, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said.

Infrastructure and capital outlays plunged by 45.2 percent in November to P48.0 billion from P87.6 billion a year earlier, and the DBM said “the spending performance of the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) continued to post negative growth amid the ongoing probe and crackdown on corruption issues.”

“This consequently slowed down the implementation of its various infrastructure projects nationwide and affected the prompt submission of progress billings by contractors and processing of payment claims,” it added.

The scandal broke after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in July that substandard projects had led to massive flooding in Metro Manila and other parts of the country.

It has led to a shake-up at the DPWH, leadership changes in Congress and a Cabinet revamp that cost Amenah Pangandaman her post as Budget secretary.

Those directly involved in the scandal, however, have yet to be jailed and the impact on spending and sentiment has yet to dissipate despite government promises of reforms.

Infrastructure and capital outlays were also lower year to date, falling by 16 percent to P991.1 billion from P1.18 trillion in January-November 2024.

“Infrastructure spending was weighed down significantly by the contraction of DPWH’s disbursements during the period in the wake of flood control corruption issues,” the DBM said.

“On the other hand, subsidies were lower year on year owing to minimal requests for subsidy releases by the National Irrigation Administration given their available cash holdings,” it added.

The department also said that funding for the National Health Insurance Program was charged against Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s operating budget, which contributed to the spending drop.

About P140.4 billion remained available for release from the regular budgets of departments (P97.7 billion), special purpose funds (P42.6 billion) and automatic appropriations as of Nov. 30, 2025.

This was despite the 2025 obligation program of P6.33 trillion already having been exceeded following additional releases from continuing, automatic and unprogrammed appropriations.

The release of the remaining funds depends on the agencies concerned submitting special budget requests and required documents, which will be reviewed by the DBM

Based on preliminary data, around P74.3 billion in allotments was released in December, which could have supported government spending toward the end of 2025.

Source: Manila Times