PH gov’t budget deficit narrows to P171.2B in February 2026

The Philippine national government saw its fiscal position stand at a narrower deficit in February 2026, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.

Based on the BTr’s cash operations report, the government posted a deficit of P171.2 billion, down by 0.14% month-on-month.

The BTr attributed the narrower budget deficit during the period to the early remittance of dividends which pushed government revenues to grow by 43.52%, slightly offsetting the 25.83% increase in expenditures during the period.

The resulting year-to-date fiscal gap stood at P5.8 billion, down by 94.35% from P97.3 billion in the same period last year.

“Our strong fiscal performance in February sets us up for a stable first quarter of this year. This acts as our safety net, giving us the resources to support the economy, especially during this time of uncertainty,” said Finance Secretary Frederick Go.

“With tax and non-tax revenues growing and expenditures kept targeted, we have successfully reduced our fiscal deficit. This fiscal buffer allows us space to provide timely, targeted, and managed subsidies to help those most affected in our country by the Middle East event,” said Go. 

Revenues

Broken down, government collections for February rose to P361.3 billion, up by 43.52% from P251.8 billion year-on-year. 

The cumulative collections for the first two months also grew by 15.48% to P830.3 billion from P718.9 billion in the same period of last year.

The BTr said tax collections accounted for 83.43 or P692.6 billion of state revenues during the period, up by 3.09% from P671.9 billion a year ago.

Non-tax collections, on the other hand, contributed for the remaining 16.57%, amounting to P137.6 billion, up by 192.51% from P47 billion in 2025.

For February alone, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) registered a 8.51% collections growth with actual collections amounting to P173.2 billion from P159.7 billion.

The BIR’s year-to-date performance totaled P531.9 billion, up by 3.33% from P514.7 billion.

“The BIR’s steady improvement is a result of ongoing measures to boost taxpayer compliance nationwide,” the BTr said.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) likewise collected P73.7 billion in February, up by 2.68% from P71.8 billion.

The BTr said the BOC’s strengthened enforcement and compliance measures as well as the peso’s year-over-year depreciation – as the dollar’s value increased by 0.3% from P58.1 in February 2025 to P58.3 in February 2026 which drove the cost of imported goods up – boosted the BOC’s fiscal performance for the period.

The BOC’s cumulative collection for the two-month period amounted to P154.6 billion, up by 2.39% from P151 billion.

Meanwhile, non-tax revenues of the BTr for February increased to P111.5 billion, up by 540.23% from P17.4 billion.

Expenditures

The national government disbursed P532.5 billion in February, up by 25.83% from the P423.2 billion year-on-year “due to the spillover of January National Tax Allotment (NTA) and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) block grant release to early February, as well as releases for the Special Shares of LGUs in the Proceeds of National Taxes – Tobacco Excise Tax.”

The BTr said the cumulative expenditures for the first two months grew to P836 billion from the P822 billion during the same period last year.

Of the February total, the BTr said 90.81% or P483.6 billion were primary expenditures, up by 29.04% from P374.8 billion in the same period last year.

Year-to-date primary expenditure, meanwhile, slowed down to P659.3 billion, down by 1.47% from P669.1 billion year-on-year.

Interest payments (IP) in February amounted to P48.9 billion, broadly flat from last year’s P48.4 billion while cumulative IP as of end-February grew by 15.61% from P152.9 billion to P176.7 billion.

“This performance by the Department of Finance (DOF) and its attached agencies allows the government to maintain fiscal discipline and ensure a sustainable path in managing the current crisis,” said Go. — JMA, GMA News