MANILA - The Philippines’ budget deficit hit P1.14 trillion in the first three quarters of the year, as spending again outstripped revenue collection, the Bureau of Treasury said on Monday.

The nine month shortfall was higher by 29.6 percent from the same period last year, but was still 20.1 percent lower versus the P1.4-trillion adjusted year-to-date target, Treasury added.

From January to September, the government collected P2.24 trillion in revenues but spent P3.38 trillion.

In September alone, the budget gap widened to P180.9 billion from the previous year’s level of P138.5 billion.

Revenue generation for September reached P231.4 billion, registering 8.96 percent growth over similar collections in 2020.

Expenditures during the month however rose to P412.4 billion, up 17.5 percent from last year’s P350.9 billion.

The government has been borrowing heavily to finance its COVID-19 response and its massive infrastructure program.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez earlier said the government is expected to borrow P3 trillion this year and P2.25 trillion in 2022.

The National Government’s debt hit a historic P11.64 trillion in August.

Economic managers however have insisted that the country's debt-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio remains sustainable despite the uptick in borrowing.

RELATED VIDEO

Watch more in iWantv or TFC.tv