Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said on Tuesday night that the interagency DevelopmentBudget Coordination Committee (DBCC) revised this year’s deficit program upward to 9.4 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), following the 179th DBCC meeting. The current deficit-to-GDP ceiling is higher than the DBCC’s earlier estimate of 8.9 percent and the actual 7.6 percent last year. Avisado said the adjusted ceiling was a result of the revised revenue and disbursement program. To fund the country’s fiscal deficit, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said the government is preparing to sell properties, especially certain large mines under the Privatization Management Office. So that will be one of the large sources to fund our future deficit, if at all,” the Finance chief added.

Source: Manila Times May 19, 2021 16:30 UTC