Manila:The national government's budget deficit remained steady at PHP248.9 billion in September, as revenue growth outpaced spending, according to data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
According to Philippines News Agency, the BTr's latest cash operations report indicated that the budget deficit for September was 0.33 percent higher than the previous year's PHP248.1 billion. Revenue collections grew by 12.9 percent to PHP318.2 billion, driven by increased tax and non-tax revenues. This growth brought cumulative collections to PHP3.53 trillion by the end of September, surpassing last year's total of PHP3.37 trillion for the same period by 4.99 percent. The year-to-date collections accounted for 73.54 percent of the PHP4.81 trillion full-year revenue target.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected PHP203.4 billion in September, marking an 11.18 percent increase from last year's PHP183 billion. For the first nine months of the year, BIR's collections reached PHP2.44 trillion, up 5.12 percent from last year's PHP2.32 trillion, although 2.6 percent lower than the PHP2.51 trillion nine-month program.
Similarly, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) saw a 14.7 percent increase in collections, amounting to PHP92.1 billion, compared to PHP80.3 billion the previous year. The BTr noted that BOC's cumulative collections reached PHP756.2 billion, exceeding last year's figures by 7.7 percent and surpassing the PHP748.5 billion target for the period. The growth was attributed to increased VAT and duty collections due to peso depreciation, higher oil prices, enforcement measures, improved valuation and assessment, and continued customs modernization.
Non-tax collections rose to PHP20.1 billion from PHP15.8 billion last year, driven by higher BTr collections. Government expenditures increased by 7.04 percent to PHP567.1 billion in September, mainly due to ongoing implementation of education, health, and social protection services, alongside a rise in infrastructure expenditures. The higher National Tax Allotment share for local government units and the Annual Block Grant to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao also contributed to increased disbursements. Disbursements for the first nine months of the year reached PHP4.84 trillion, exceeding both the January to September 2025 level of PHP4.48 trillion and the PHP4.77 trillion nine-month program by 7.90 percent.
