Fiscal deficit widens to P61.7 billion in February

MANILA, Philippines — Higher spending as a result of the Duterte administration’s massive infrastructure program widened further the national government’s fiscal deficit to P61.7 billion in February, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported yesterday.

Citing the cash operations report of the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the DBM said fiscal deficit in February widened almost three-fold to P61.7 billion from the P23.7 billion recorded in the same month last year.

It was also a reversal from the P10.2 billion surplus posted in January.

A deficit occurs when the government’s expenditures exceed the revenue it generates.

For February alone, spending jumped by 37 percent to P240.3 billion from the P175.6 billion recorded in the same month in 2017. This outpaced the 18 percent growth in revenue, which amounted to P178.5 billion as compared to last year’s P151.8 billion.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno attributed the rise in disbursements in February to the administration’s massive infrastructure program, as well as the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Modernization Program and the increase in salary of government personnel under the Salary Standardization Law.

He said productive spending for the month amounted to P204.1 billion, while interest payments for government obligations reached only P36.2 billion.

Meanwhile, Diokno said the continued increase in collections was driven by the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, particularly the newly imposed excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), for its part, collected P116.6 billion in February, 10 percent higher than last year’s P105.9 billion.

The Bureau of Customs’ collection also jumped 42 percent to P43.7 billion from P30.9 billion in the same month in 2017.

On a year-to-date basis, the national government incurred a fiscal deficit of P51.5 billion from January to February, the DBM said.

This came as expenditures climbed by 26 percent to P469 billion from P373.7 billion a year ago, outrunning revenue, which climbed 19 percent to P417.4 billion from P352.2 billion.

“The fiscal program of the national government is on track, backed by the strong performance of both spending and revenue collection,” Diokno said, adding that the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) will continue to monitor relevant indicators on the country’s finances to ensure that we hit our financial and development targets.”