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THE
improved collection efficiency of both the Bureau of
Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC)
in February did nothing to prevent the national
government from incurring a deficit totaling P32.9
billion in the first two months.
The two-month budgetary shortfall was
larger than the year-ago deficit of only P18.6 billion
and resulted from revenues reaching P168.8 billion
against expenditures reaching P201.7 billion.
Revenue growth averaged only 4 percent
for the period, but expenses, driven higher by interest
payments, accelerated nearly three times as much.
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves vowed
to continue spending within budget no matter the
two-month shortfall.
“We expect spending to remain high,
especially in the first six months, but the real
challenge for us is to ensure we have the revenue to
sustain it even as we keep the fiscal discipline,” he
said.
He also bared a program requiring
government financial institutions to heighten their
lending activities to the agricultural sector,
particularly those that engage in rice and related
activities.
Both the Land Bank of the Philippines
and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) were
directed to provide more credit for the rice subsector.
“These are agri loans, not financing for
the procurement of rice and cereals,” Teves said.
Under the plan, Landbank was to extend
incremental credit totaling P15 billion while DBP will
provide an extra
P5 billion to boost credit to the farm sector by a total
of P20 billion this year.
The budget for rice
subsidies will continue to be implemented by the
National Food Authority but incremental off-budget
spending will be coursed via the GFIs, Teves explained.
Perceptions of an alleged shortage of
the rice staple linger even though Agriculture Secretary
Arthur Yap has repeatedly given assurances of adequate
supply.
The perceived restraints have pushed
food prices significantly higher in February already,
raising concerns about higher inflation than the target
4 percent-plus or minus-one percentage point seen for
the year. |
