The National Government’s fiscal position improved in February, with the budget deficit slightly narrowing to P171.2 billion from P171.4 billion a year ago, as a sharp rise in revenues helped offset faster spending growth.
Data from the Bureau of Treasury showed revenues in February jumped 44 percent to P361.3 billion, driven largely by early remittance of dividends, while expenditures expanded 26 percent to P532.5 billion.
The strong revenue performance helped pull down the year-to-date fiscal deficit to just P5.8 billion, a steep 94.35 percent drop from P103.1 billion in the same period last year.
Tax collections remained the backbone of government revenues, accounting for 84 percent or P692.6 billion in the first two months, up 3.1 percent year-on-year. The Bureau of Internal Revenue posted an 8.5 percent increase in February collections to P173.2 billion, reflecting improved compliance efforts, while its cumulative take reached P531.9 billion.
The Bureau of Customs also recorded modest gains, with February collections rising 2.68 percent to P73.7 billion. The uptick was partly supported by the peso’s depreciation, which raised the value of imports and, in turn, boosted tariff collections.
Non-tax revenues, however, drove the bulk of February’s revenue surge, climbing to P111.5 billion from just P17.4 billion a year earlier. This was largely due to earlier-than-usual dividend remittances from government-owned firms, pushing total non-tax collections for the first two months to P137.6 billion, nearly triple last year’s level.
On the spending side, disbursements rose on the back of timing-related factors, including the release of National Tax Allotments and block grants to the Bangsamoro region, as well as allocations tied to tobacco excise taxes. Still, cumulative expenditures grew at a modest 1.7 percent pace to P836.0 billion, suggesting some fiscal restraint.
Analysts said the February outcome reflects improved cash management rather than a structural shift, as one-off dividend inflows boosted revenues. Sustaining fiscal gains will likely depend on stronger tax effort and continued discipline in spending.
