23.12.202509:28:00UTC+00Philippines Budget Deficit Narrows in November

In November 2025, the Philippines reduced its budget deficit to PHP 157.6 billion from the previous year's PHP 213 billion. This improvement was driven by a 0.7% increase in government revenues, reaching PHP 340.7 billion, alongside a 9.6% decrease in expenditures to PHP 498.3 billion. The Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs bolstered this progress with tax collection increases of 2.7% and 3.4%, respectively. However, non-tax revenues saw a significant decline of 41.6%, totaling PHP 9.3 billion. During January to November 2025, the nation’s budget deficit grew to PHP 1,263.7 billion from PHP 1,176.9 billion in the same period the previous year. Total revenue increased by 1.1% to PHP 4.1 trillion, primarily due to a 7.0% rise in tax collections, while total expenditures climbed 2.5% to PHP 5.4 trillion. Nevertheless, the overall primary deficit decreased by 1.77% compared to the same timeframe last year, partly attributed to delays in certain flood control projects amid investigations of alleged corruption.