Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19) — Government collections from taxes on businesses and individuals as well as customs duties reached ₱600.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, nearly 21 percent below the ₱757.12 billion target for the period, the Department of Finance disclosed on Sunday.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue raked in ₱455.45 billion in the three-month period, while the Bureau of Customs collected ₱145.51 billion, the DOF said in a press release.
Their collections in March were most affected, with both agencies only accumulating ₱163.15 billion, off by ₱85.36 billion short of the collection target of ₱248.5 billion for the month.
On March 16, the government declared a lockdown on the entire Luzon to curb the spread of COVID-19. The quarantine period was set to end on April 12 but was extended until April 30 as the number of coronavirus infections continued to increase.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III says that the Development Budget Coordination Committee estimates a drop of ₱286.4 billion in revenues if the economy posts zero growth this year because of the pandemic.
A one percent contraction in the economy, on the other hand, is expected to result in a revenue decline of ₱318 billion for the year, the DBCC estimates also indicate.
READ: Economic team plots recovery plans after ‘zero growth’ this year
“The original revenue collection goal set by the DBCC for the two main collection agencies was a combined ₱3.307 trillion for 2020. The BIR was tasked to collect ₱2.576 trillion of that target, while the BOC was to collect ₱731 billion,” said the Finance Department.
However, despite the drop in the collections of both agencies during the period, Dominguez said that the country is “financially able” to address the unexpected challenges brought about by the COVID-19 crisis.
This is due to President Rodrigo Duterte’s “order to maintain fiscal discipline and exercise prudence in state spending” since the start of his term, explained Dominguez.
Dominguez also previously told CNN Philippines the government is prepared to finance quarantine measures until the end of May.
The government has released ₱132.3 billion from savings for the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic so far, according to Duterte’s third weekly report to Congress.
Earlier this month, the World Bank had approved a loan of $500 million (about ₱25 billion) to aid the Philippines’ fight against the coronavirus outbreak.
