GOVERNMENT agencies improved their spending in April, reaching a utilization rate of 93 percent, data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed.

According to the 2024 report on the utilization of notices cash allocation (NCA), the national government, along with local governments and state-owned enterprises, employed P1.3 trillion out of the total P1.4 trillion worth of NCAs that were issued by the end of April.

This resulted in P98.6-billion unutilized funds.

The utilization rate, however, recorded a decline from the previous month's 99 percent.

For April alone, P347.14 billion was spent out of the P438.62 billion funds allocated for the month.

NCAs represent a quarterly authorization granted by the DBM to organizations, enabling them to access funds from the Bureau of the Treasury to fulfill their expenditure requirements.

At the end of April, departments used P911 billion, or 91 percent of their allotments, leaving P94.97 billion unused.

No agency achieved a 100-percent utilization rate, the DBM said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs utilized 99 percent of its budget, spending P4.21 billion out of the allocated P4.26 billion as of the end of April.

Meanwhile, the Department of Migrant Workers recorded the lowest utilization of 51 percent, using only P2.2 billion out of the P4.33 billion allocation.

Budget authorities have already disbursed P4.96 trillion of the P5.768 trillion budget as of end-April.

This accounts for 86 percent of the annual budget, surpassing the 85.8-percent disbursement rate recorded in April 2023.

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