A government agency receiving less funding than it requested does not automatically mean its budget has been cut, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Acting Secretary Kim Robert de Leon said Thursday.
De Leon explained that an agency’s budget request and its actual or proposed allocation are different figures and should not be treated as interchangeable.
“A request is not yet a budget,” De Leon said in the latest episode of “ASK — Alamin kay Sec. Kim.”
He said the DBM evaluates agency proposals based on several factors, including previous budget levels, actual fund utilization, program requirements, government priorities and available resources.
De Leon illustrated the distinction using an agency that received PHP70 billion in the previous year, requested PHP100 billion for the succeeding year and was proposed to receive PHP80 billion under the National Expenditure Program (NEP).
Calling the PHP20-billion gap between the agency’s request and proposed allocation a budget cut would be inaccurate, he said, because the agency’s proposed allocation actually increased by PHP10 billion from its previous PHP70-billion budget.
“Hindi porke’t hindi naibigay ang buong request, na-cut na ang budget (Just because the full request was not granted, that does not mean the budget has been cut),” De Leon said.
He urged the public to identify which figures are being compared when assessing whether an agency received a budget increase or reduction.
The distinction comes as government agencies collectively submitted funding proposals totaling about PHP12 trillion for the 2027 budget, including Special Purpose Funds and other automatic appropriations.
The amount far exceeds the proposed PHP7.2-trillion national budget, making prioritization necessary amid limited government resources.
“Ang totoo: may approved budget ceiling ang gobyerno. Hindi puwedeng lahat ng gusto nating gastusan ay basta natin pagkagastusan (The truth is the government has an approved budget ceiling. We cannot simply spend on everything that we want to fund),” De Leon said.
Budget utilization is another factor considered when the DBM reviews an agency’s funding requirements.
“Sa national budget, ganito rin. Isa sa mga tinitingnan sa pag-review ng budget requirements ang budget utilization — o kung gaano kalaki sa nakaraang budget ang aktuwal mong nagamit (In the national budget, it is the same. One of the factors considered in reviewing the budget requirements is budget utilization — or how much of the previous budget was actually used),” he said.
An agency’s spending performance can help determine how much funding it may reasonably need in the succeeding fiscal year, De Leon said. Unused portions of a previous allocation may indicate that the agency’s actual requirements were lower than its request.
He compared the process to household budgeting, where families consider income, expenses and actual spending before determining how much they can allocate for specific needs.
De Leon said the government likewise has to weigh competing demands because public funds are finite.
“Maraming pangangailangan, maraming gustong bilhin, maraming magandang paglaanan — pero talagang limitado ang perang pumapasok (There are many needs, many things we want to buy, and many worthwhile things to spend on — but the money coming in is truly limited),” he said.
“Kaya kailangang mamili. Kailangang mag-prioritize. At higit sa lahat, kailangan nating siguraduhin na kaya nating pondohan ang budget nang hindi inilalagay sa alanganin ang fiscal health ng ating bansa (That is why we have to make choices. We have to prioritize. And above all, we have to ensure that we can fund the budget without putting the fiscal health of our country at risk),” De Leon added.
The DBM, he said, seeks to ensure that limited government resources are directed toward necessary programs while delivering meaningful benefits to Filipinos.
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