Public spending on infrastructure in the Philippines rose by nearly a quarter in April with bulk of the increase going to reconstruction efforts in areas hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda, the country's Department of Budget and Management reported recently. Expenditures for infrastructure and other capital outlay climbed
Public spending on infrastructure in the Philippines rose by nearly a quarter in April with bulk of the increase going to reconstruction efforts in areas hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda, the country's Department of Budget and Management reported recently.
Expenditures for infrastructure and other capital outlay climbed to P93.7 billion as of April or a 24.5 percent increase from the P75.2 billion spent in the same month last year.
“Our infrastructure spending is still going at a faster clip year-on-year. Although post-Yolanda reconstruction activities have played a major role in our infrastructure disbursements, the upsurge is also on account of the Aquino administration's stronger focus on strengthening the economy through infrastructure and capital outlay investments,” Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad said.
“Our campaign to ‘build back better' for Yolanda-hit areas requires the introduction of better standards in the recovery and reconstruction process. We aren't merely preoccupied with restoring damaged structures. We're also determined to rebuild public infrastructure-such as schools and hospitals-so they're more disaster-resistant,” he added.
State spending on infrastructure propelled overall government expenditures to P626.1 billion, up 7.2 percent year on year.
Abad also noted the government's higher disbursements to support local government units (LGUs), where total capital transfers reached P113.9 billion as of April, 12.3 percent highe than the P101.4 billion registered in the same period a year ago.
Meanwhile, interest payments from January to April, which amounted to P116.5 billion, slowed down by P5.5 billion or 4.5 percent compared to the previous year's figure.