Nine-month budget deficit exceeds P1 trillion

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines incurred a budget shortfall of P180.91 billion in September, bringing the total budget gap from January to September to P1.139 trillion as the government’s pandemic-related expenses continue to surge, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said yesterday.

The nine-month deficit was nearly 30 percent higher than the P879.21 billion shortfall recorded in the same period last year.

The September shortfall was also 31 percent higher than the P138.52 billion gap recorded in the same period last year as the increase in government spending and interest payments outpaced the growth in tax collections.

Broken down, expenditures grew by roughly 18 percent to P412.36 billion in September due to double-digit spikes in primary spending and interest payments, while revenues went up by more than 10 percent to P212.68 billion on better tax collections.

In September, primary spending ballooned by 19 percent to P364.5 billion, while interest payments rose by over 10 percent to P47.85 billion.

Government collections stood at P212.68 billion, 10 percent higher than last year’s P192.77 billion.

Collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue rose by 10 percent to P154.22 billion in September from P140.6 billion a year ago.

The Bureau of Customs, for its part, grew its tax haul by more than 13 percent to P57.56 billion from P50.75 billion.

Non-tax collections by the government slid by over 14 percent to P18.75 billion in September from P19.63 billion a year ago on lower income from the Treasury, Malampaya and fees and charges.

From January to September, government expenditures increased by almost 12 percent to P3.37 trillion from P3.02 trillion in the same period last year while income rose by only four percent to P2.23 trillion from P2.14 trillion.

The government expects a budget deficit of P1.85 trillion for this year, 9.3 percent of gross domestic product.