MANILA - Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the government's spending level grew to P3.3 trillion from January to August, up 3.5 percent compared to last year.
It is also 63 percent of the full-year expenditure program, Diokno said in his weekly chat with the media.
In August, expenditures grew 9.7 percent, reaching P443.6 billion, he said.
Total revenues for August, meanwhile, reached P310.6 billion, lower by 6.58 percent due to the decline in tax and non-tax revenues. But he said revenue collections from January to August grew to P2.58 trillion, up 9.03 percent compared to the same period last year.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue's collection hit P1.71 trillion for the first 8 months of the year while the Bureau of Customs reached P581.5 billion in collection.
The national government's budget deficit for August 2023 reached P133 billion, up 84.63 percent, Diokno said.
Diokno said this was due to the 6.6 percent contraction in government receipts alongside a 10 percent growth in expenditures.
-- with a report from Izzy Lee, ABS-CBN News
Budget deficit, government spending, BIR, BOC, revenue, revenue collection, Benjamin Diokno, Department of Finance