NG posts P11.2-B surplus in October

THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT’S (NG) fiscal position swung to a surplus in October as revenues and expenditures declined amid a corruption scandal, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said on Wednesday.

- By Aubrey Rose A. Inosante Reporter

Data from the Treasury showed a P11.2-billion surplus in October, a turnaround from the P248.08billion deficit in September and wider than the P6.3billion surplus seen in October 2024.

This was the first budget surplus since the P67.3billion surplus in April.

In October, government expenditures fell by 7.76% to P430.6 billion from P466.8 billion in the same month last year.

October marked the third straight month that expenditures declined on an annual basis, as disbursements for public works projects were tightened amid a widening corruption probe.

Primary spending — which refers to total expenditures minus interest payments — fell by 9.29% to P373.2 billion in October from P411.4 billion a year earlier.

Interest payments rose by 3.57% to P57.4 billion in October this year from P55.4 billion in the same month in 2024.

At the same time, revenue declined by 6.64% to P441.7 billion in October from P473.1 billion in the same month last year.

Tax revenues inched down by 0.09% to P414.5 billion in October from P414.9 billion in the same month in 2024.

The bulk or 69.62% of tax revenues came from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), whose collections rose by 1.02% to P328.8 billion in October from P325.5 billion a year ago.

This included a P211-billion tax refund, which pushed the gross BIR collections to P329.1 billion.

“This robust performance was driven by collections from corporate income tax, personal income tax, value-added tax, percentage tax on banks/financial institutions, and excise tax on tobacco products,” the BTr said.