Gov’t budget gap narrowed in February
The national government’s budget deficit narrowed marginally in February as early dividend remittances boosted revenues and tempered the pickup in spending.
Data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Tuesday showed that the fiscal deficit shrank slightly by 0.1 percent to P171.2 billion from a year ago.
This reversed the P165.4-billion surplus seen in January, when fiscal space was deemed to be tightening due to a slowdown in spending and modest revenue growth.
The fiscal gap for the first two months of the year now stands at P5.8 billion, a substantial 94.35-percent dip from the P103.1 billion recorded in the same period last year.
“The narrower budget deficit in February mainly reflects tighter spending control early in the year, alongside steady tax collections that helped offset higher interest costs,” Carlo Asuncion, chief economist at UnionBank of the Philippines, said.
Broken down, total government revenues surged 43.5 percent to P361.3 billion. Nontax revenues fueled this jump after spiking nearly sixfold, rising 540.8 percent to P111.5 billion.
Tax revenues, meanwhile, totaled P249.8 billion. Of this, the Bureau of Internal Revenue contributed P173.2 billion, up 8.51 percent from a year ago, while the Bureau of Customs collected P73.7 billion, a 2.68-percent increase.
The strong revenue performance helped temper a 25.83-percent rise in expenditures, which reached P423.2 billion.
Finance Secretary Frederick Go said the fiscal performance in February may signal a stable first quarter for the government.
