A GOVERNMENT THINK TANK said revenue collection and the national budget process must be improved so that the Philippines could get back on track to meet its so-called Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) said in its latest paper, ?Impact of the Global Financial and Economic Crisis on the Philippines,? that the government might not have enough resources to improve the situation of lower-income households in the next five years or so.

The paper was written by Josef T. Yap, Janet S. Cuenca and Celia M. Reyes and was released last Thursday.

According to the three economists, the resources with which to meet the MDGs would likely be reduced if the growing fiscal deficit and weak tax collection would persist.

MDGs refer to a country?s commitment to the United Nations Development Program, which comprise eight goals that touch on basic social issues and must be met by 2015.

Under the MDGs, the UN agency seeks to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, provide primary education services to all, promote gender equality and empowering women, reduce the incidence of death among children, improve maternal health, fight diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria, ensure environmental sustainability, and pursue global cooperation for development efforts.

Although preliminary data may indicate that the global downturn has ?a moderate adverse effect? on income and employment of lower income households,? the situation of poor families may not necessarily improve in the medium-term, the PIDS paper said.

?This is definitely a problematic scenario given that the poverty situation in the Philippines deteriorated even when economic growth was relatively robust,? PIDS said.

?Many social protection programs continue to be hindered by low coverage and inadequate benefits, poor targeting, and operational constraints due to lack of coordination among program implementers.?

To enable the government to finance the resource gaps in basic social services, PIDS called for fiscal reforms that include making more efficient the systems and procedures of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs.

PIDS also wants to encourage local government units to spend more on basic social services and equalize the distribution of the internal revenue allotment based on an LGU?s capacity to provide minimum social services.