The shortfall was smaller than the P178.6-billion deficit a year earlier, but higher than the P40.1-billion gap in August. “The budget gap narrowed as the 10.19-percent year-over-year decline in revenue collections was matched by a 15.45-percent dip in public spending,” the Treasury bureau said in a statement. Revenues slid to P212.4 billion in the ninth month from P236.5 billion year-on-year while expenditures dropped to P350.9 billion from P415.1 billion a year earlier. Nontax earnings settled at P19.4 billion, with the Treasury contributing P8.6 billion, shrinking by 19.35 percent year-on-year. This year’s budget shortfall is seen to reach P1.81 trillion, or 9.6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, according to latest estimates from the interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee.

Source: Manila Times October 23, 2020 17:03 UTC