MANILA — Revenue collections from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs have hit P3.2 trillion this year, Malacañang announced on Sunday.

Press Undersecretary Cheloy Garafil said that based on figures from the Department of Finance, BIR and BOC revenue collections have already exceeded by 2.2 percent the full-year 2022 target set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee.

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The Bureau of Treasury, which publishes the revenue performance of government agencies, earlier said that as of end-October, total collections from the BIR, BOC and other agencies had reached P2.946 trillion.

This was not enough to cover government expenditures during the Jan-Oct period which reached P4.058 trillion, leading to a deficit of nearly P1.112 trillion.

To finance the shortfall, the government has been borrowing heavily from both domestic and foreign lenders. As of end-October, the Philippines' sovereign debt had already ballooned to a record P13.64 trillion.

The Palace said that next year, the Philippines is eyeing to secure some $19.1 billion worth of official development assistance. It is also eyeing to secure some $9.2 billion in loans from several development partners and $9.8 billion worth of loans from bilateral lenders.

Malacañang meanwhile claimed the higher revenue collections as among the accomplishments of the DOF under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

"The finance department also facilitated the implementation of grants and technical assistance amounting to an estimated $85.5 million," the statement read, without elaborating.

New taxes are also being pushed to cover the budget gap.

The DOF also aims to push Packages 3 and 4 under the comprehensive tax reform program, pass the excise tax on single-use plastics, and the value added tax on digital service providers, among others.

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Private sector fund mobilization through public-private partnership programs will also be pursued, noted Garafil.

"Tax administration reforms will be implemented to enhance tax efforts, maximize the government’s revenue potential, simplify taxpayer compliance and automate the BIR and [Bureau of Customs] processes," said the Palace.

The Marcos administration is looking to spend P5.268 trillion in 2023.

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