The National Government (NG) posted a total expenditure of P1.1 trillion during the first quarter of 2022. This is about P83.3 billion or 8.2% higher than the same period last year (Table 1). Growth rate in spending, however, is slower in 2022 compared with that of 2021 at 19.9%. The decrease in growth rate can be attributed to election spending ban towards the end of the first quarter which slowed down public construction. First quarter expenditures in 2022 is 22.3% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the period.
