The Philippine government’s budget deficit widened by 24.7 percent in the first eight months of 2025 to P869.2 billion, as expenditures grew faster than revenue collection, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said Wednesday.
Total revenue collections rose 3.1 percent to P3.09 trillion, while expenditures climbed 7.2 percent to P3.95 trillion in the January-to-August period.
It said the deficit remained within the government’s revised full-year target of P1.56 trillion for 2025.
Tax collections, led by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), sustained an 11.44 percent growth year-on-year. The BIR raised P2.14 trillion, on the back of higher corporate and personal income taxes, as well as value-added tax and excise taxes on tobacco.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) generated P621.4 billion, a 1.14 percent increase from the previous year, partly due to intensified efforts against illicit trade.
Government spending in the first eight months of the year expanded by 7.15 percent to P3.95 trillion. Of the total, P3.37 trillion were primary expenditures, which the BTr said demonstrated the government’s commitment to “channeling resources toward priority programs and growth-enhancing expenditures.”
Non-tax revenues reached P298.3 billion as of the end of August, already achieving 97.33 percent of the revised full-year program of P306.5 billion. Non-tax revenues last year were boosted by a one-time big remittance, making the year-over-year comparison higher than usual.
Income from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), at P189.3 billion, made up 63.46 percent of the total non-tax revenues.
This has exceeded the revised full-year program of P179.2 billion. The BTr’s outperformance was driven by higher interest earnings on national government (NG) deposits, dividend remittances, income from managed funds and the NG’s share from the profits of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) and the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).
The resulting primary deficit of P285 billion as of the end of August demonstrates the government’s commitment to channeling resources toward priority programs and growth-enhancing expenditures that improve the lives of Filipinos, the BTr said.
