Gov’t budget deficit narrows to ₱1.5 trillion

The Marcos administration registered a decline in budget deficit last year, with revenues growing significantly faster than expenditures, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

In 2023, the national government's fiscal deficit stood at ₱1.512 trillion, a 6.3 percent decrease from the previous year's ₱1.614 trillion.

The year-end budget shortfall slightly exceeded the ₱1.499-trillion target set for the year by 0.85 percent.

According to the Treasury, the 2023 budget deficit equated to 6.2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), slightly surpassing the 6.1 percent target but notably lower than the 7.3 percent ratio registered in 2022.

“[It is] indicating progress of fiscal consolidation,” the bureau said in a statement.

The Treasury report attributed the year-on-year decline to stronger revenue growth, which surpassed target and helped offset the slightly higherthan-expected public spending.

Revenues for last year amounted to ₱3.824 trillion, an eight percent growth compared to the ₱3.545 trillion recorded in 2022, and surpassing the ₱3.729 trillion target.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) contributed ₱2.517 trillion to the total, which is eight percent higher from ₱2.335 trillion the previous year. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs' collections grew by 2.4 percent to ₱883.3 billion from ₱862.4 billion.

On the other hand, the Treasury bureau posted a substantial revenue growth of 47 percent from ₱154.8 billion to ₱227.6 billion.

From January to December 2023, the national government’s expenditures climbed to ₱5.336 trillion, or a three percent growth from the previous year's ₱5.159 trillion.

This full-year spending exceeded the Marcos administration's target of ₱5.228 trillion by two percent.

In December alone, the government’s budget deficit increased by six percent to ₱401 billion from ₱378.4 billion.

Revenues in the final month of the year totaled ₱260.1 billion, while expenditures reached ₱661 billion.