Both government revenue collection and public expenditures tumbled in September 2025 from a year ago as a flood control project scandal restrained disbursements, but the nine-month budget deficit remained below its programmed target due to sustained revenue growth, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said Thursday.
The BTr reported that revenues fell 5.99 percent in September to P281.7 billion from P299.7 billion a year ago. Expenditures also shrank 7.53 percent to P529.8 billion from P572.9 billion.
The decrease was primarily attributed to lower spending performance by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), which is undertaking an ongoing validation of completed projects and strictly verifying progress billings and payment claims, the Treasury said in a statement.
This resulted in a budget shortfall of P248.1 billion in September, which was lower than the P273.3-billion deficit posted a year earlier.
Data from the BTr showed that the overall fiscal deficit for the period ending September 2025 stood at P1.12 trillion, remaining below the programmed deficit of P1.26 trillion for the same period.
The agency affirmed that the government remains on track to keep the deficit within its full-year target of P1.56 trillion.
Total revenues reached P3.37 trillion by the end of the third quarter, a 2.24-percent increase over last year’s level, led by higher tax collections. This performance puts revenue on track to hit the full-year program of P4.52 trillion.
Tax revenues accounted for the majority of the year-to-date (YTD) collections at P3.05 trillion, posting an 8.56-percent growth from the previous year.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) collected P2.32 trillion, posting another double-digit growth of 10.88 percent year-on-year (YoY), on the back of higher collections from corporate income tax, personal income tax, value-added tax, excise tax on tobacco and percentage tax on banks and financial institutions.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) registered a 1.59 percent YoY improvement, raising P701.7 billion in the same nine-month period.
Meanwhile, non-tax collections reached P314.1 billion, 34.71 percent lower YoY due to the base effect of extraordinary non-recurring remittances in 2024.
Nine-month non-tax revenues already exceeded the 2025 program of P306.5 billion. Total disbursements as of end-September reached P4.48 trillion, posting a 5.18 percent YoY growth.
The government noted that catch-up measures are in place to align overall spending with its priorities, despite implementation challenges faced by some DPWH projects.
