2026.04.0708:31:01UTC+00Philippines Budget Deficit Narrows Slightly in February

The Philippines recorded a budget deficit of PHP 171.2 billion in February 2026, slightly lower than the PHP 171.4 billion shortfall posted in the same month a year earlier. Total revenues jumped 43.52% year-on-year to PHP 361.3 billion, mainly supported by a sharp rise in non-tax income following the earlier-than-usual remittance of dividends earned in 2025. Total expenditures increased 25.83% to PHP 532.5 billion, largely reflecting the spillover into early February of January’s National Tax Allotment (NTA) and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) block grant releases, as well as the release of Special Shares of local government units (LGUs) in the proceeds of national taxes, particularly from tobacco excise taxes. For the January–February period, the budget deficit narrowed to PHP 5.8 billion, a steep 94.35% decline from the PHP 103.1 billion shortfall recorded in the same period last year.