The Department of Finance (DOF) reported on Tuesday the government’s budget deficit in November this year narrowed by 3.7 percent to P123.9 billion, or P5 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 P331.1 billion. This translated to an increase of P47 billion in revenue collections from a year ago.
For the first 11 months of the year, revenue collections stood at P3.3 trillion, 18.1 percent or P503.1 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 P3.3 trillion goal for the year. Among revenue collections, taxes contributed the most at 90 percent or P3 trillion, while non-tax sources contributed 10 percent or P317.7 billion,” the DOF said in a statement.
On the other hand, government expenditure in November increased by 10.2 percent to P455 billion.
Government spending from January to November this year already reached P4.5 trillion, or 91 percent of the P5 trillion national budget program for this year.
Year-to-date, government’s budget deficit eased to P1.2 trillion, lower by 7.2 percent or P96.3 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 P1.47 trillion, with higher revenue collection of P3.71 trillion and spending of P5.2 trillion.
The Marcos administration sets a national budget of P5.3 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
