MANILA – The Department of Finance (DOF) reported on Tuesday the government’s budget deficit in November this year narrowed by 3.7 percent to PHP123.9 billion, or PHP5 billion from November 2021.
This, as the growth in revenue collection exceeds expenditure last month.
The DOF said revenue collections in November 2022 improved by 16.6 percent to PHP331.1 billion. This translated to an increase of PHP47 billion in revenue collections from a year ago.
For the first 11 months of the year, revenue collections stood at PHP3.3 trillion, 18.1 percent or PHP503.1 billion higher than the revenue collections in the same period in 2021.
“The revenue performance shows that the government is already at 99 percent of the PHP3.3 trillion goal for the year. Among revenue collections, taxes contributed the most at 90 percent or PHP3 trillion, while non-tax sources contributed 10 percent or PHP317.7 billion,” the DOF said in a statement.
On the other hand, government expenditure in November increased by 10.2 percent to PHP455 billion.
Government spending from January to November this year already reached PHP4.5 trillion, or 91 percent of the PHP5 trillion national budget program for this year.
Year-to-date, government’s budget deficit eased to PHP1.2 trillion, lower by 7.2 percent or PHP96.3 billion from the same period in 2021.
“These developments are a good way to end the year. Our government agencies have been working hard to meet both our revenue and spending targets. We will welcome 2023 on a strong financial footing,” DOF Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.
Early this month, the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) targets lower budget deficit of PHP1.47 trillion, with higher revenue collection of PHP3.71 trillion and spending of PHP5.2 trillion.
The Marcos administration sets a national budget of PHP5.3 trillion next year to roll out its Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the country’s medium-term plan focusing on creating quality jobs to lift Filipinos out of poverty faster. (PNA)
