2009 shortfall below P300B — Finance official

Full-year fiscal figures for 2009 will be reported by the government today, with a senior Finance official saying the deficit had likely stayed below P300 billion. Government estimates for the final shortfall have hit as high as P298 billion, although officials have said it would more likely be around P290 billion. The Finance official, who requested anonymity, said the result would "not go higher than P300 billion." The shortfall stood at P272.5 billion as of November, well past the official cap of P250 billion. Officials blamed lackluster revenues and the need for pump-priming to support the economy amid a global downturn. The government had kept the deficit in control in the last two years, reporting a full-year shortfall of P68.1 billion for 2008, within its target of P75 billion, and a deficit of P12.4 billion in 2007, well under the programmed cap of P63 billion. "The deficit figure for 2009 is higher than in the previous years because of stimulus spending. We wanted to avoid recession and that is why we used that to boost economic growth," the Finance official said. Economists interviewed by BusinessWorld said they expected the deficit figure for 2009 to be below P300 billion. "[The] deficit should be P290 billion because the National Government has slowed spending," said Victor A. Abola of the University of Asia and the Pacific. University of the Philippines economics professor Benjamim E. Diokno did not give a specific figure but said the shortfall would be slightly below P300 billion. "Finance officials will try to keep it slightly below P300 billion after a lot of window dressing," claimed Diokno, a former Budget secretary. The government expects the budget shortfall to hit P293 billion this year. — Louella D. Desiderio, BusinessWorld