THE government has incurred P3.4 billion in commitment fees since the start of the Marcos Jr. administration for delays in utilizing approved loans from external development partners.
Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go said the government accumulated a total of P3.4 billion in commitment fees since 2022 due to delays in the implementation of foreign-assisted projects.
This was in response to the query of Akbayan Rep. Dadah Kiram Ismula, who asked, at Monday’s Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) briefing for the House of Representatives,
how much did the administration incur in commitment fees from delayed projects redirected to unprogrammed appropriations.
Unprogrammed appropriations are standby spending authorities that may only be used if specific legal conditions are met, such as the availability of additional revenues beyond projections or the realization of new loan proceeds.
On project delays, Go said there may be penalty clauses in contracts between implementing agencies and contractors or service providers, but these are separate from lender-related commitment fees.
Delays effectively create a financial penalty through higher project costs, as long delays can lead to cost overruns or additional project costs, he added.
‘We have witnessed that in several flagship transportation and [Department of Public Works and Highways’] projects that when the project is delayed for years, the project could actually double in cost,’ Go said.
Budget Secretary Kim Robert C. De Leon said that these foreign-assisted projects are now lodged under programmed appropriations for 2027 to ensure government counterpart funding is available and projects can proceed.
‘This is to start the necessary preliminary works, design works, in case the loan agreements are signed anytime by 2027,’ De Leon said.
The Budget chief clarified that foreign-assisted projects without signed loan agreements were placed in unprogrammed appropriations because there was uncertainty over when their loan agreements would be finalized.
Once the loan agreements are signed, the loans become active and the government can release the corresponding funding, he added.
In 2025, the total active official development assistance (ODA) in the country reached $41.8 billion.
These consist of 95 project loans amounting to $31.7 billion, 17 program loans amounting to $8 billion and 340 grants amounting to $2.1 billion.
Active ODAs refer to loans and grants that were signed, became effective, continued implementation, completed implementation, or had ODA financing closed from January 1 to December 31, 2025.