Non-tax earnings’ more than sixfold increase only balanced out the higher growth in spending in February, with the national government (NG) still posting a budget deficit of over ₱170 billion, comparable to the gap seen in the same month last year.

According to the Bureau of the Treasury’s (BTr) latest cash operations report (COR) released on Tuesday, April 7, the Marcos Jr. administration’s fiscal position modestly improved as the budget deficit slightly narrowed to ₱171.2 billion in February from ₱171.4 billion a year ago.

This marginal decline in the budget gap comes as the surge in overall revenues, at 43.5 percent, helped offset a significant expansion in government spending.

Total receipts for February climbed to ₱361.3 billion, up from ₱251.8 billion a year ago. For the first two months of the year, cumulative collections reached ₱830.2 billion, an increase of 15.5 percent.

Of the country’s tax authorities, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) contributed ₱173.2 billion to the February total, an 8.5-percent increase from ₱159.7 billion a year ago, driven by ongoing measures to enhance taxpayer compliance.

A standout in the February report was the surge in non-tax revenues to ₱111.5 billion, up from ₱17.4 billion a year ago, driven by earlier-than-usual remittances of dividends earned by government-owned and/or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) in 2025.

Government spending shifted from January’s cuts to a growth of 25.8 percent, with disbursements reaching ₱532.5 billion.

Despite the spending spike in February, the cumulative fiscal gap for the first two months stood at just ₱5.8 billion, a 94.4-percent decline from the ₱103.1-billion deficit during the same period in 2025.