The national government’s budget deficit widened 15.2 percent to ₱1.12 trillion in the first nine months of the year, from ₱970.2 billion in the same period last year, driven by faster increase in spending than earnings.

Still, the year-to-date fiscal deficit remains well below the ₱1.26 trillion program for the period, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). The fiscal shortfall is expected to remain within the full-year target of ₱1.56 trillion by the end of 2025.

Total revenues collected through September reached ₱3.37 trillion, 2.2 percent higher than last year’s ₱3.29 trillion. This is 74.6 percent of the revised full-year target of ₱4.52 trillion.

Tax collections made up the bulk at ₱3.05 trillion, an 8.6 percent rise compared to ₱2.81 trillion a year ago.

Collections from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the country’s top tax-collecting agency, improved by 10.9 percent to ₱2.32 trillion as of end-September, up from ₱2.09 trillion a year ago.

“This was driven by increased collections from corporate income tax (CIT), personal income tax (PIT), value-added tax (VAT), excise tax on tobacco, and percentage tax on banks and financial institutions,” the BTr said.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC), the country’s second-largest revenue agency, collected ₱701.7 billion from January to September, 1.6 percent higher than last year’s ₱690.7 billion.

Notably, non-tax revenues dropped 34.7 percent to ₱314.1 billion from ₱481.0 billion a year earlier. The government attributed the massive decline in this area to the “base effect of extraordinary non-recurring remittances in 2024.”

Meanwhile, public spending as of end-September expanded 5.2 percent to ₱4.48 trillion from ₱4.26 trillion a year earlier. This stood at 73.7 percent of the revised full-year target of ₱6.08 trillion.