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Philippines books P1.14 trillion budget deficit from Jan-Sept, up 29.6 percent

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA - The Philippines’ budget deficit hit P1.14 trillion in the first three quarters of the year, as spending again outstripped revenue collection, the Bureau of Treasury said on Monday. </p><p>The nine month shortfall was higher by 29.6 percent from the same period last year, but was still 20.1 percent lower versus the P1.4-trillion adjusted year-to-date target, Treasury added.</p><p>From January to September, the government collected P2.24 trillion in revenues but spent P3.38 trillion.</p><p>In September alone, the budget gap widened to P180.9 billion from the previous year’s level of P138.5 billion. </p><p>Revenue generation for September reached P231.4 billion, registering 8.96 percent growth over similar collections in 2020. </p><p>Expenditures during the month however rose to P412.4 billion, up 17.5 percent from last year’s P350.9 billion. </p><p>The government has been borrowing heavily to finance its COVID-19 response and its massive infrastructure program. </p><p>Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez earlier said the government is expected to <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/08/26/21/ph-borrowings-to-drop-to-p225t-in-2022-finance-chief">borrow</a> P3 trillion this year and P2.25 trillion in 2022. </p><p>The National Government’s debt hit a historic P11.64 trillion in <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/09/30/21/philippine-debt-hits-p1164-trillion-in-august">August</a>.</p><p>Economic managers however have insisted that the country&#x27;s debt-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio remains sustainable despite the uptick in borrowing. </p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1807554" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

From January to September, the government collected P2.24 trillion in revenues but spent P3.38 trillion.