2026.03.0308:36:49UTC+00Philippines Budget Deficit Narrows in December

The Philippine government’s budget deficit narrowed to PHP 313.2 billion in December 2025 from PHP 329.5 billion in the same month a year earlier. Government revenues fell 3.3% year-on-year to PHP 304.3 billion, while expenditures declined at a steeper 4.2% to PHP 617.4 billion. The shortfall was contained by stronger tax collections from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (+11.1%) and the Bureau of Customs (+9.8%), even as non-tax revenues slumped 59.3% to PHP 25.7 billion.

For full-year 2025, the fiscal deficit widened by 4.7% to PHP 1,576.8 billion from PHP 1,506.4 billion in 2024. Total revenues edged up 0.8% to PHP 4.5 trillion, supported by a 7.3% increase in tax receipts. Expenditures rose 1.8% to PHP 6 trillion, driven by higher allocations to local government units (LGUs), increased interest payments, and civilian salary adjustments, which more than offset reductions in subsidies to government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs). The total primary deficit for 2025 narrowed to PHP 712.7 billion from PHP 743 billion in the previous year.