The national government’s budget deficit narrowed in February to P105.8 billion versus the year ago level of P116 billion, due to the contraction in public spending alongside a decline in revenue collection, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said in a statement yesterday.
According to data released by the BTr, this led to a year-to-date budget deficit of P129.2 billion for the two-month period, also slightly lower by 0.65 percent compared to the previous year’s total of P130 billion for the same period.
The BTr reported that total expenditures for the month went down by 5.16 percent to P318.2 billion from the year ago level of P335.5 billion, mainly on account of the completion of the P45-billion equity infusion to government financial institutions in February last year, in line with the implementation of Bayanihan II.
“However, netting out the said amount, disbursements grew by 9.64 percent year-on-year largely attributed to the national tax allotment of the local government units, spending for the different programs of the Department of Education, Commission on Elections and COVID-19 vaccine financing,” the BTr said.
Meanwhile, year-to-date expenditures amounting to P619.7 billion grew by 1.53 percent from the year ago level of P610.3 billion.
The BTr also reported that revenue collection for the second month of the year slipped by 3.26 percent year-over-year reaching P212.4 billion versus P219.6 billion.
Total revenues as of end-February amounting to P490.5 billion, however, was still up by 2.12 percent from the P480.3 billion in the same period last year mainly due to the higher collections of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the BTr said.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) collection in February slowed to P136.6 billion, 11.38 percent behind last year’s P154.1 billion for the same month.
BIR’s uptake as of end-February amounting to P332.4 billion likewise registered a 1.16 percent contraction from last year’s collection of P336.3 billion.
The BOC collection, meanwhile, was up by 25.96 percent from P47.2 billion a year ago to P59.4 billion in February 2022 as a result of improved valuation and continued intensified collection efforts, the BTr said.
This increased BOC’s cumulative collection for the two-month period to P117.8 billion, 24.69 percent better than the year ago level of P94.5 billion. – Angela Celis
