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By Chino S. Leyco, Reporter
THE Philippine government’s expenditures rose
faster than its revenues last February, with its budget deficit
widening from the month before, the Department of Finance said on
Friday.
In a briefing, Finance Secretary MargaritoTeves
said the government incurred a P19 billion fiscal gap in February,
or a reversal of the P11.1 billion surplus in the same period last
year.
Last year’s surplus was largely due to the
proceeds of the sale of the state’s stake in Philippine
Telecommunications Investment Corp. (PTIC).
This year, revenues in February dropped 8.8
percent to P81.8 billion. Of the total, the Bureau of Internal
Revenue (BIR) turned in P50.9 billion, 23.4 percent higher than last
year. The Bureau of Customs generated P15.7 billion, an increase of
16.6 percent from last year, while the Bureau of Treasury turned in
P8.5 billion, 103 percent higher year-on-year.
Revenues from other offices, including
privatization proceeds, fell 78.1 percent to P6.7 billion.
“If we exclude privatization receipts, total
revenues from other offices actually increased by P1.7 billion in
February this year from P5 billion last year,” Teves said.
Expenditures grew 28.3 percent to P100.8 billion
from P78.5 billion last year due to higher interest payments arising
from the sale of Treasury bills to government financial institutions
and local government units.
In the first two months of the year, the
government was short by P32.9 billion, or higher than the deficit of
P18.6 billion in the same period last year.
Two-month revenues this year reached P168.8
billion, an increase of 4 percent from the previous year’s P162.3
billion.
The BIR turned in P107.6 billion, 18.3 percent
higher than last year, while Customs generated P30.4 billion, a 20.6
percent increase year-on-year. The treasury bureau contributed P13.1
billion, up 26.5 percent from last year, while other offices turned
in P17.7 billion, a 50.5 percent drop owing to a smaller windfall
from state asset sales this year.
The end-February spending increased by 11.5
percent to P201.7 billion from P180.9 billion last year.
Despite the wider deficit, Teves said the
government is sticking to its plan of balancing the budget this year
even as public spending is expected to increase.
“Although we have incurred a higher deficit in
the first two months of the year, we are encouraged by the strong
revenue growth posted by the BIR and [Customs] and we are hoping to
get back on track with our deficit program in the coming months,”
he said.
“We will complement the improved tax
collection with privatization to ensure that the government has
enough resources to fund needed investment in infrastructure and
social services,” he added.
With prudent fiscal management, Teves said the
government is better prepared to weather external shocks and help
protect the country’s economic gains.
“The budget situation has been improving and
is likely to improve further, which bodes well for Philippine
bonds,” Development Bank of Singapore said in a note.
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