Budget deficit hits $1.44 B in June

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government incurred a budget deficit of P62.5 billion ($1.44 billion) in June as spending rose by nearly half during the period, the Finance department said today.

The Finance department said a 44-percent hike in disbursements last month brought the country back to a budget deficit for the first semester. Government spending in the January to June period went up by 11 percent.

"The government's efforts to boost revenue collections have allowed us to ramp up spending," Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said in a statement today.

The June deficit rose by more than six-fold from P8.5 billion ($196.15 million) recorded in the same period last year. This brought the country's fiscal position in January to June to a shortfall of P54 billion ($1.24 billion), up 5 percent year on year.

Collections of revenue-generating agencies rose by 6 percent on year to P138.6 billion ($3.19 billion) in June. This brings year-to-date collections to P933.7 billion ($21.54 billion), 11 percent higher than the level posted in the same period last year.