The national government’s budget deficit widened to P64.3 billion in October, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.
According to the latest cash operations report, the deficit was 4.77 percent or P2.9 billion higher than the P61.4 billion recorded in the same period last year.
The year-to-date budget deficit consequently widened to P1.2 trillion, 27.94 percent or P262.8 billion higher than the budget gap posted in the same period last year of P940.6 billion, and is at 65 percent of the P1.9 trillion 2021 revised program.
Total revenue for October grew by 10.9 percent to P253.1 billion from the P228.2 billion collected last year.
Cumulative collection as of end-October stood at P2.5 trillion, equivalent to 86 percent of the P2.9 trillion revised program for the year and registered a five percent improvement from the P2.37 trillion a year ago.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) collection for the month increased to P162.1 billion, 6.6 percent higher versus the same month of last year’s P152.1 billion.
BIR’s year-to-date collection of P1.7 trillion likewise reflected a 6.83 percent increase over collections in 2020 of P1.6 trillion and comprised 82 percent of its revised full-year target of P2.1 trillion.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) managed to grow its collection by 9.76 percent to P55.5 billion in October 2021 from P50.6 billion a year ago.
This resulted in BOC’s cumulative uptake of P525.4 billion for the 10-month period, 17.1 percent better than the P448.6 billion attained in the same period in 2020 and represented 85 percent of the P616.7 billion adjusted program for the year.
Total BTr income for October amounting to P9 billion grew by 30.01 percent, which was mainly attributed to higher dividend remittances as well as the national government’s share from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.’s profit and investment income.
BTr’s total aggregate collection of P114.5 billion from January to October, meanwhile, declined by 45.07 percent from P208.5 billion, which the agency said was due to the high base effect of last year’s remittances in compliance with Bayanihan I.
BTr’s year-to-date performance, however, has already outperformed the original full-year program of P74.7 billion by 53.31 percent.
Meanwhile, the national government’s disbursement for October reached P317.4 billion, 9.6 percent above the P289.6 billion disbursed for the same month last year.
Year-to-date expenditure of P3.7 trillion similarly surpassed the previous year’s spending performance for the same period of P3.31 trillion by 11.51 percent. – Angela Celis
