November budget deficit narrows 26% to P157.6 billion

The national government's budget deficit narrowed to P157.6 billion in November, a 26 percent decrease from the P213 billion deficit recorded in the same month last year.

This narrowing was primarily driven by a sharp decline in government expenditures, reflecting agencies rushing to meet year-end targets for social infrastructure and programs.

This November deficit is a significant turnaround from the P11 billion budget surplus recorded in October.

However, total revenue collection in November only grew slowly by 0.7 percent.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) remained the top contributor, with collections increasing by 2.7 percent.

Despite the improvement in November, the cumulative budget deficit from January to November expanded to P1.26 trillion, an increase of 7.38% from the same period last year.

This year-to-date deficit widening was attributed to government expenditures growing by 2.49%, outpacing revenue collections.

The eleven-month deficit is still within the government's full-year target of P1.56 trillion, representing 80.92% of the fiscal program.