Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Department of Finance revealed on Thursday (October 1) that the national government’s budget balance stood at a surplus of P15 billion in August this year. August’s figure subsequently brought the year-to-date balance to a deficit of P3.4 billion.
Similarly, the primary balance for the month was at a surplus of P31.5 billion, while year-to-date primary surplus registered at P222.2 billion, 10% or P19.6 billion higher than year-ago figures.
Sustained revenue growth
The government’s total revenues for August grew by an annualized 4 percent to reach P176.7 billion. Total revenues for the period of January-August reached P1.44 trillion, reflecting a 13% growth year-on-year.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue was the government’s largest source of income, having raised P138.5 billion. Year-to-date collections for the agency have reached P962.6 billion, up 8 percent from the same month last year.
On the other hand, the Bureau of Customs notched P26.9 billion during the month, bringing the January to August figure to P235.6 billion.
“Even as weighted average values of imported oil continue to sag with a 31% year-on-year decline, total customs collections for January to August still beat year-ago figures by 1%, propelled by the 12% improvement in collections from non-oil commodities,” the DOF said.
The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) collected P2.7 billion in August, bringing its year-to-date total to P83.9 billion, 11 percent higher from the same period last year.
Expenditures also grow
The national government’s disbursement increased by an annualized 15 percent, reaching P161.6 billion.
From January to August, expenditures have reached P1.44 trillion, reflecting an 11% percent growth from year-ago levels.
Interest payments from January to August reached P225.7 billion, about P24.7 billion lower than programmed.
Such payments accounted for 16 percent of expenditures during the first eight months of the year an improvement from the 18 percent during the same period in 2014.
“Sound fiscal management burnishes our credentials as one of Asia’s safest and strongest, a boon for our investment and growth prospects,” said Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima. “The Filipino people benefit from a better fiscal position: the better we can resist the turns of the tides in volatile times, the better we can chart the path for our own future.”
“We refuse to turn back the clock on our reforms. As the curtains start closing towards the end of 6 straight years of transformation, we leave confident that institutionalizing good governance has given the economy our most valuable investment.”
Last July, the national government logged a P32.2 billion deficit in its budget balance after ending the first half of the year with a P13.7 billion surplus.
