Cabinet-level interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) has lowered the revenue goal for the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for this year but raised the target for the Bureau of Customs (BOC), in tandem with the downgraded economic growth outlook.

According to data disclosed by the Department of Finance (DOF) during the DBCC's 193rd meeting, the committee modestly lowered the BIR’s tax haul target by ₱38 billion to ₱3.39 trillion from the previous ₱3.43 trillion. Conversely, the BOC’s goal was increased slightly by ₱7.2 billion to ₱1.01 trillion from the initial ₱1 trillion baseline.

This adjustment coincides with a more cautious outlook for the Philippine economy, as growth is now projected to slow to between 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent in 2026. The upper end of this target would mark the weakest economic expansion in six years, dating back to the pandemic-driven contraction.

“Growth is expected to moderate this year amid heightened domestic and external uncertainties, including the lingering effects of governance-related issues, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and other global developments affecting business and consumer confidence,” the DBCC said in a July 9 statement.

To tackle these challenges, the DBCC noted that it has “recalibrated our fiscal targets to ensure strategic, growth-supportive fiscal consolidation.”

Total revenue collections for 2026 are now pegged at ₱4.81 trillion, or 15.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), which economic planners previously estimated will reach ₱30.85 trillion this year.

Meeting these revised targets will rely heavily on the full implementation of tax policy reforms. These include the value-added tax (VAT) on digital services law, the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises to Maximize Opportunities for Reinvigorating the Economy (CREATE MORE) Law, the Capital Markets Efficiency Promotion Act (CMEPA), and the new mining fiscal regime. The DBCC emphasized that these measures must be supported by sustained improvements in tax administration, digitalization, and enforcement.

Meanwhile, the fiscal environment faces ongoing pressure from high inflation, which the DBCC expects to settle between six percent and seven percent. These inflationary pressures reflect “elevated global fuel prices, persistent supply-side pressures, and the emerging second-round effects of the ongoing Middle East conflict.”

Despite these persistent risks, the committee maintains that the country “remains well-positioned to respond through sound fiscal discipline, evidence-based policymaking, and sustained investments in the country’s long-term development priorities.”

Among the fiscal measures the Marcos administration implemented during the US-Iran conflict was the suspension of excise taxes on kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). This three-month tax suspension ended on July 8.

DOF Secretary Frederick D. Go revealed to reporters during a national executive forum on the implementation of the Real Property Valuation and Assessment Reform Act (RPVARA) that the forgone revenues resulting from that suspension amounted to ₱2.5 billion.