THE budget use of government agencies accelerated in the first four months of the year, data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed over the weekend.

From January to April, agencies used P699.96 billion of the P822.41 billion issued under the Notice of Cash Allocation (NCA), resulting in an 85-percent utilization rate, up from 58 percent in 2020.

NCA refers to disbursement authorities issued by the Budget department to government-servicing banks, such as the Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines, and Philippine Veterans Bank to cover the cash requirements of agencies’ programs, activities and projects. NCAs are valid up to the last working day of the quarter covered.

A higher NCA utilization rate, according to the department, demonstrates line agencies’ ability to timely disburse their allocated funds and execute their programs and projects.

The Commission on Audit (CoA) had the highest utilization rate of 99 percent during the time, using P2.78 billion of the P2.80 billion released to its office.

Other agencies with 90 percent and above utilization ratio are the legislative-executive councils; the departments of Energy, National Defense, Transportation, Agriculture, Tourism, Agrarian Reform, Interior and Local Government, Labor and Employment, and Justice; the National Economic and Development Authority; and the Commission on Human Rights.

The budget use rates of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) were both the lowest at 52 percent. The DFA spent only P3.12 billion of its P6-billion budget, while the Comelec spent P1.57 billion of its P3.01-billion budget.

In the first four months, agencies’ unused NCA totaled P122.45 billion, down from P530.33 billion a year earlier.

The DBM previously reported that it had already released P3.61 trillion of the 2021 appropriations in the four months ending April.

In January-April, allotment releases accounted for 80.2 percent of the government’s P4.50-trillion budget. The most recent figure was less than the P3.69 trillion released in the first four months of 2020.