Philippines Budget Deficit Widens in August

The Philippines’ budget deficit widened sharply to PHP 161.3 billion in August 2026 from PHP 84.8 billion in the corresponding month of the previous year. Total revenues declined 1.85% year-on-year to PHP 346 billion, driven largely by a 35.59% drop in non-tax revenues, while tax collections increased 0.32%. Total expenditures soared 16.0% to PHP 507.3 billion, mainly due to higher health insurance funding for low-income people, senior citizens, and other eligible patients, as well as larger tax transfers to local governments. Primary expenditures rose 18.03%, accounting for 87.06% of total spending, while interest payments grew 3.98% amid higher debt servicing costs and foreign-exchange fluctuations. In the January–August period, the country recorded a budget shortfall of PHP 1,054.3 billion, up from PHP 869.2 billion in the same period last year.

The Philippines’ budget deficit widened sharply to PHP 106.3 billion in July 2026 from PHP 18.9 billion in the corresponding month of the previous year. Total revenues rose 2.12% year-on-year to PHP 482.3 billion, with a 7.02% increase in tax collections partly offset by a 39.92% decline in non-tax revenues, mainly due to the timing of BSP dividend remittances. Total expenditures soared 19.82% to PHP 588.6 billion, led by higher disbursements for social assistance programs to help address the impact of the Middle East conflict, as well as defense modernization initiatives and foreign-assisted rail transport projects. Primary expenditures rose 17.25%, accounting for 76.69% of total spending, while interest payments jumped 29.14% amid higher debt servicing costs and foreign-exchange fluctuations. For the first seven months of the year, the country recorded a budget shortfall of PHP 893.1 billion, higher than PHP 784.4 billion in the same period last year.

The Philippines’ budget deficit widened to PHP 264.3 billion in June 2026 from PHP 241.6 billion in the same month a year earlier. Government revenues increased 2.46% to PHP 314.5 billion, driven by stronger tax collections, which rose 6.86% year-on-year, while non-tax revenues fell 43.53%, largely due to lower Bureau of the Treasury income following the earlier remittance of dividends this year. Meanwhile, expenditures increased 5.51% to PHP 578.7 billion, driven by higher National Tax Allotment shares for local governments, subsidies to government-owned corporations, particularly Food Terminal Inc. for the Rice-for-All Program, and direct development partner payments to suppliers and contractors for the Department of Transportation’s foreign-assisted rail projects. For January-June, the cumulative budget deficit widened to PHP 786.8 billion from PHP 765.5 billion in the same period last year.