The fiscal authorities finally reported on Thursday a budgetary shortfall in June, with expenditures overtaking revenues by P72.7 billion for the month.
But since the government’s fiscal position remained in surplus in the first half, this development failed to dispel speculations the government could be underspending again.
According to the Department of Finance (DOF), the government incurred a P72.7-billion budget deficit in June, bringing its fiscal position to a surplus of P13.7 billion in the first half.
The DOF attributed the budget surplus to higher revenues this year, saying that the government’s fiscal position in the first half of 2014 was a deficit of P67.7 billion.
Total revenues from January to June amounted to P1.085 trillion, or a growth of 16 percent, compared to the same period last year.
“As we close out the first half of the year, we continue to see robust growth trends across the board—be it from the revenue-generating agencies or the expenditure side. June shaped up to be a good month for our fiscal story as performance at the BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue] and the BOC [Bureau of Customs] jumped by double digits,” Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said.
Of the total revenues the BIR collected P705.9 billion, or a 10-percent growth from the agency’s collection in the first half of 2014.
The BOC collected P178.6 billion for the first half, or a 3-percent growth from its collection during comparable periods in 2014.
The Bureau of the Treasury contributed P67 billion in revenues for the first half.
On the expenditures side, Purisima allayed fears that the government’s budget surplus automatically meant that it was spending less. He cited that expenditures for the first half of this year grew by 9 percent from the expenditures made in the same period last year.
Disbursements for the first half already breached the trillion-peso mark at P1.072 trillion.
Interest payments also constituted less out of the total amount of expenditures, suggesting that more cash is freed up to spend for projects that have social and economic impact.
Interest payments for the first half amounted to P156.1 billion, or 15 percent of the total expenditures.
“Pumping productive spending with adequate fiscal space is expected to help propel even higher broad-based growth. We are confident that improving revenue collections and the highly liquid tone of the market can respond to our funding requirements,” Purisima said.