Underspending the national budget


For a while I could not believe what I was reading when I came across a news article on the Inquirer's website about Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. urging government agencies to catch up and spend more in the second quarter. He noted that expenditures were P22 billion less than what it should have been.
           
For years, it was a regular occurrence for government agencies to experience delays in the release of the budget and the accumulation of accounts that these agencies did not have the cash to pay for. This was due to large budget deficits government was incurring the past few years.
           
Times have changed.       
           
The budget deficit was down from P146.8 billion in 2005 to P64.8 billion in 2006.
           
It looks like the huge government bureaucracy which has been used to partial cash releases of their budgets are now unable to respond adequately to a situation where there is enough cash to implement programmed expenditures.
           
Government spending is a big chunk of our Gross Domestic Product or GDP which measures economic growth.
           
Such expenditures are targeted, meaning if targets are not met, then this would lower the GDP.
           
Government spending generates employment and income. Thus, the inability to spend at programmed levels would lower employment and family incomes.
           
It will probably take a little more time for government personnel involved to act as Secretary Andaya wants them to.
           
All these years of “insufficient cash” experiences may have entered into the mindset and culture of the bureaucracy.
           
Obviously, this has to change.
           
There should be no underspending.