The Philippine government’s budget deficit narrowed to P145.2 billion in May 2025 from P174.9 billion in the same month last year, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said Thursday.
The BTr attributed the smaller deficit to a 13.35-percent growth in revenue collections, alongside a moderation in expenditure growth to 3.81 percent during the national elections month.
The five-month deficit, however, reached P523.9 billion, up 29.41 percent year-on-year, as the government accelerated investments in infrastructure and social programs to support inclusive growth.
The government remains on track to meet its deficit target for the year through “prudent fiscal management and efficient use of resources,” in line with its Medium-Term Fiscal Program, the BTr said.
Revenue collections in May amounted to P433.1 billion, outperforming the previous year’s level by 13.35 percent due to strong growth in both tax and non-tax revenues.
This pushed five-month collections to P1.953 trillion, up 5.41 percent year-on-year, keeping the government on track to achieve its targets for 2025.
Tax revenues, which made up the bulk of the total at P1.752 trillion, rose 10.49 percent, highlighting the sustained strength of the government’s revenue-generating efforts.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) sustained its strong performance for the fifth consecutive month, with actual collections in May reaching P242.7 billion, up 10.71 percent year-on-year.
Its five-month collection reached P1.354 trillion, a 13.80-percent increase from the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) collection went down by 6.94 percent to P75.7 billion in May due to the impact of reduced tariffs, particularly on rice and battery-powered electric vehicles. The agency’s five-month collection reached P381.7 billion, up by 0.22 percent compared with the same period last year.
The Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) income surged to P83 billion in May, more than quadrupling its P20.2 billion income recorded in the same month last year.
The sharp increase was driven by dividend remittances, as most government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) remitted in May this year, along with higher national government share from PAGCOR profits and earnings from BTr-managed funds.
The BTr’s cumulative income of P129.2 billion in five months was 17.44 percent lower year-on-year primarily due to the high base effect in 2024, including the one-off gain from the Casecnan privatization proceeds.
National government expenditures rose 3.81 percent in May from the P557 billion posted in the same month last year.
The increase was mainly due to higher interest payments, National Tax Allotment releases to local government units (LGUs) and Annual Block Grant to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
“The implementation of the 2nd tranche of salary adjustments of qualified civilian government employees pursuant to Executive Order No. 642 also contributed to the growth of spending in May,” the BTr said.
Total disbursements reached P2.477 trillion in the five month period, higher than the previous year’s spending by 9.71 percent.
