Gov’t spending still below targets

The government’s budget balance swung to a surplus of P15 billion in August as government spending, which also increased year-on-year, could not keep up with the faster rise in revenue collection.

The latest cash operations report released by the Department of Finance on Thursday showed that the government posted a surplus last August as revenues rose 4 percent year-on-year to P176.7 billion, exceeding the expenditures that month worth P161.6 billion, a 15-percent jump year-on-year.

The budget surplus in August was about half of the P29.9-billion surplus recorded a year ago and below the programmed surplus for the month of P27.3 billion.

The budget balance at the end of eight months remained at a deficit of P3.4 billion, which was dwarfed by the programmed deficit of P197.2 billion for the period as well as the P25.9-billion deficit in the first eight months of last year.

While total revenues slightly increased in August, these fell short of the programmed collections of P209.3 billion for the month.

The end-August total revenue of P1.44 trillion was 13-percent higher year-on-year, but below the P1.5-trillion target for the eight-month period.

As for expenditures, the actual August figures were 11-percent lower than the goal of P182 billion. As of end-August, disbursements were up 11 percent year-on-year to P1.444 trillion, but missed the program of P1.7 trillion for the first eight months.

“Sound fiscal management burnishes our credentials as one of Asia’s safest and strongest, a boon for our investment and growth prospects. 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,” Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said in a statement.

“We refuse to turn back the clock on our reforms. As the curtains start closing toward the end of six straight years of transformation, we leave confident that institutionalizing good governance has given the economy our most valuable investment,” Purisima added.