PH gov’t records P6B surplus in November

MANILA, Philippines – Even as expenditures outpaced the year-on-year growth of revenues in November last year, the national government still incurred a budget surplus during the period, the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) reported Thursday, January 7.

Based on the latest cash operations report of BTr, the national government generated a P6 billion ($127.46 million) surplus for November, 12% lower than the surplus recorded in 2014.

Considered as a sign that the government is being run efficiently, a surplus might be used to pay off debt, save for the future, or to make a desired purchase.

The fiscal performance in November trimmed the year-to-date deficit to P46.5 billion ($987.95 million).

The 11-month deficit figure is less than a sixth of the P283.70 billion ($6.03 billion) budget deficit ceiling for the full-year, as both revenues and expenditures continue to underperform.

Year-to-date, total expenditures amounted to P1.992 trillion ($42.27 million), 15% below program, but jumped by 13% from the previous year.

In November alone, expenditures amounted to P171.4 billion ($3.64 billion), 23% below target, but 13% up from November 2014.

Expenditures up

In a statement, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said that this is the sixth consecutive month of double digit year-on-year growth for expenditures.

“We are pleased to know that gradual efforts to address issues in underspending such as the General Appropriations Act (GAA-as-release document), advanced procurement of goods and services, and the creation of full-time delivery units have produced positive results,” Abad said.

He added that the government is expecting agencies to fine tune the schedule of their disbursements this year.

Abad is also still optimistic that growth will further accelerate in the first quarter of 2016 with the comprehensive release of the budget, faster implementation of projects before the election ban, and the greater push to deliver public goods and services as soon as possible.

Revenues up

The government’s total revenues for January to November stood at P1.945 trillion ($41.37 billion), 7% below program but 12% up year-on-year.

For November alone, it hit P177.5 billion ($3.77 billion), missing its target by 21% yet 12% up from the same period in 2014.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue collected P1.327 trillion ($28.20 billion) as of end-November, missing its program by 14% although 9% up from the previous year.

In November, the agency collected P136.4 billion ($2.90 billion) in November 2015, 22% below target, but 12% up from 2014.

The Bureau of Customs raised P329.8 billion ($7.003 billion) year-to-date, 17% lower than target and a mere 2% increase from the same period of the previous year.

The agency also generated P29.1 billion ($617.97 billion) in November 2015 alone, 27% below program but 18% up from the comparable month in 2014.

The Department of Finance said that while the persistent downtrend of oil prices caused January to November collections on oil to drop by 32%, non-oil collections continue to look encouraging with growth of over 11%. – Rappler.com

$1 = P47.09