BUDGET Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said that the national government has spent an estimated 98 percent of their P5.268 trillion budget for this year.

The DBM Secretary said that the government agencies had done their job for catch-up plans which resulted in high spending.

Pangandaman also noted that the national government spending during the last quarter of the year was not what they were expecting so the growth of the country’s gross domestic product was also not that high.

"The President already talked to us, we were asked to submit a catch-up plan and all the agencies and departments were able to do it, thus 98 percent of spending," she said.

Meanwhile, Pangandaman also said that the remaining percent is more than the lump sum projects would be paid in the national government budget.

She also announced that there will be an increase in the national tax allotment for the Visayas region by 6 percent, from P50.9 billion in 2023 to P54.15 billion in 2024.

"Out of the PHP5.768 billion proposed budget for next year, which hopefully will be ratified today and signed by the President when he comes back from Japan, P604.5 billion is allocated for the regional offices and P207.5 billion will be allocated for the Visayas region for various projects, activities and programs," she said.