The national government’s fiscal deficit widened to ₱1.26 trillion in the first 11 months of the year, up from ₱1.18 trillion in the same period last year, as long-term mismatch between spending and revenue collection persisted despite a sharp narrowing of the gap in November.

Data released by the Bureau of the Treasury on Tuesday, Dec. 23, showed that the year-to-date deficit increased 7.4 percent compared to the previous year. The shortfall currently represents 80.9 percent of the administration’s full-year ₱1.56 trillion ceiling.

Treasury officials described the performance as an indication of the Marcos administration’s commitment to prudent fiscal discipline and maintained that the government remains on track to meet its annual goals.

Total revenue between January and November edged up 1.1 percent to ₱4.15 trillion from ₱4.10 trillion a year ago. The modest gain was driven primarily by tax collections, which offset a significant slump in non-tax income.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue, the government’s largest collection agency, posted its receipts grow 8.9 percent to ₱2.91 trillion that provided a buffer as non-tax revenues plummeted 36.9 percent to ₱350.6 billion.

The Treasury attributed the decline to the absence of large, one-off remittances that bolstered the previous year's figures.

Despite the year-on-year decline in non-tax income, the current ₱350.6 billion total has already exceeded the government’s revised annual target of ₱306.5 billion by 14.4 percent. The Treasury cited higher-than-expected income from its own operations, privatization proceeds, and various fees and grants as the primary drivers for exceeding the goal.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs contributed ₱859.5 billion to the state coffers through November, slightly outpacing the ₱850 billion collected during the same period last year.

Meanwhile, government spending continued to rise on a year-to-date basis, increasing 2.5 percent to ₱5.41 trillion from ₱5.28 trillion. However, the fiscal picture shifted in November as the monthly deficit narrowed by more than 25 percent.

Monthly expenditures fell by 9.6 percent to ₱498.3 billion from ₱551.3 billion in November 2024. This contraction in spending, combined with a 0.7 percent uptick in monthly revenue to ₱340.7 billion, helped curb the immediate expansion of the debt hole.

The November revenue performance remained mixed. While the BIR and the Bureau of Customs posted monthly gains of 2.7 percent and 3.4 percent respectively, non-tax collections fell 41.6 percent to ₱9.3 billion.