Gov't budget deficit widens 14% to ₱893 billion at end-July
The Philippine government's fiscal deficit widened by 14% to ₱893.1 billion in the first seven months of 2026. While tax collections from the BIR and BOC showed growth, total government spending outpaced revenue gains.
Why it matters
The widening deficit highlights fiscal pressure on the Philippine economy, potentially impacting future government spending and debt management strategies.
State spending outpaced revenue growth in the first seven months of the year, pushing the national government’s (NG) fiscal deficit to ₱893.1 billion, 14 percent wider than the ₱784.4-billion shortfall recorded during the same period in 2025.
The NG ’s latest cash operations report (COR) released by the Bureau of the Treasury on Thursday, Aug. 27, showed that t otal revenues as of end-July climbed 5.1 percent to ₱2.87 trillion from the ₱2.73 trillion collected during the same period in 2025.
Tax collections, which comprised 90.4 percent of total revenues, rose 5.7 percent to ₱2.59 trillion. Meanwhile, non-tax revenues for the seven-month period dipped marginally to ₱276.1 billion from ₱277 billion last year.
However, the double-digit year-to-date increase in the BTr ’s income to ₱201.5 billion partially offset shortfalls in other non-tax sources.
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