DBCC aims to keep deficit target to 2% of GDP in 2014

The Development Budget Coordination Committee has committed to keeping its deficit target to 2 percent of GDP in 2014.

The 2014 deficit target of P266.2 billion was announced earlier this month in National Budget Memorandum No. 116, which sets the macroeconomic assumptions, fiscal targets and department budget ceilings that should guide departments and agencies when drawing up their budget proposals for next year.

In a statement on Thursday, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said that the government will continue working to improve the pace, efficiency and quality of public expenditures. “We remain committed to our fiscal consolidation strategy, which should help us reduce our debt stock and create more fiscal space for programs and projects that support inclusive economic growth,” he said.

According to Abad, while the budget deficit program has increased nominally in the past three years, the government expects its debt burden to decline by an annual average of 1.2 percentage points, bringing the outstanding debt-to-GDP ratio to 46.2 percent in 2014 from 50.9 percent in 2011.

The Department of Budget and Management is also planning the disbursement of 17.2 percent of the GDP in 2014, amounting to P2.29 trillion—a 15.5-percent or P307.5-billion rise from the 2013 disbursement target of P1.98 trillion.

With the amount planned for disbursement in 2014, said Abad, “we can refine our strategy for focused, performance-driven disbursements next year. Already, we plan to bolster spending for public infrastructure, as well as drive more investments toward the agri-fisheries, manufacturing, and transportation industries, among other promising sectors.” — BM, GMA News