MANILA – The country’s budget deficit reached P120.9 billion in August as government spending rose, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported on Thursday.
The agency said the amount is thrice as high as the P40.1 billion recorded in the same month last year but is lower than the P121.2 billion deficit registered in July.
August’s figure brings the government’s cumulative fiscal deficit to P958.2 billion – a 29.36 percent jump. It’s also equivalent to 52 percent of the revised P1.85 trillion program for this year.
Public expenditure climbed by 34.2 percent to P380.2 billion during the month – the second-highest growth recorded this year next to the 37.27 percent rate logged in February.
The disbursement of several coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) financing requirements such as cash aid to families affected by strict quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila and subsidy releases to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. led to higher spending in August, the bureau explained.(CNN)
