The government will double its efforts to maintain its good spending performance, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said on Friday, as she expressed elation over the 5.7-percent drop in budget deficit in 2024.
Pangandaman gave the assurance, after the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported Thursday that the budget deficit narrowed by 0.38 percent to PHP1.506 trillion as revenue growth outpaced spending.
As a percentage of the gross domestic product (GDP), the deficit improved to 5.7 percent in 2024 from 6.22 percent in 2023, according to the BTr’s release of the Cash Operations Report on the national government’s full-year fiscal performance for 2024.
Pangandaman said she is “very pleased” with the report that the budget deficit for 2024 has gone down, adding that the result is “better than expected.”
“This is the lowest rate recorded since the pandemic started in 2020,” she said.
“It is a marked improvement compared to the 6.2 percent deficit recorded in 2023, given the better-than-expected revenue and spending performance. This is also well within the fiscal outlook of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) at our last meeting,” Pangandaman added.
Pangandaman also gave credit to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and the economic team “who have been at the forefront of ensuring that the macroeconomic targets of the administration are met.”
She said the country’s economic managers remain committed to achieving growth-enhancing fiscal consolidation while prioritizing long-term investments in key sectors such as infrastructure, education, and healthcare to sustain economic recovery.
“Through these efforts, we will continue to build a Bagong Pilipinas that fosters job creation, increases incomes, and reduces poverty,” Pangandaman, who is also chairperson of the DBCC, said. “This positive outcome underscores the effectiveness of the Department of Budget and Management’s efforts to optimize agencies’ budget utilization rates.”
Government spending rose by 11.04 percent compared to the previous year, surpassing the target by 2.97 percent, driven primarily by the accelerated implementation of various health and social protection programs, increased salaries for qualified government employees, and strong infrastructure and other capital outlays of the Department of Public Works and Highways, among others.
Meanwhile, government revenues for 2024 reached PHP4.419 trillion or 16.72 percent of GDP, higher by 15.56 percent compared to 2023 and exceeding the revenue target by 3.49 percent, allowing for greater fiscal consolidation.
Pangandaman said the government’s current performance reaffirms that it is “on track” with its Agenda for Prosperity.
“This solidifies the Philippines’ position as one of the dynamic emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region,” she said.
The DBCC met on Dec. 2, 2024, to revisit the government’s medium-term macroeconomic assumptions and fiscal targets, including the deficit outlook for 2024, which is expected to reach 5.7 percent of GDP.
The DBCC aims to gradually reduce the budget deficit to 3.7 percent by 2028. (PNA)
