2010 fiscal deficit seen to stay within P325-B ceiling

The government's fiscal deficit could be P15 billion lower than the P325 billion programmed for 2010, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said Monday, citing preliminary figures. Beltran attributed the better-than-expected deficit figure to the improved revenue collections and prudent spending of the Aquino administration. "It's a combination of both factors," Beltran said in an interview with reporters. Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad are expected to announce the final budget deficit numbers in the first week of February. Revenues totaled P1.104 trillion in January-November last year, up 8 percent from P1.021 trillion booked in the same period in 2009, according to Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) records. In November 2010 alone, government revenues rose to P111.5 billion from P96.3 billion posted in the same month in 2009, BTr said. The government, meanwhile, said it spent P1.374 trillion in January-November 2010, up 6 percent from P1.294 trillion in the comparative period in 2009. For November last year, the government disbursed P111.1 billion from the P101.5 billion it spent in the same period in 2009, BTr records showed. The government managed to register a budget surplus of P482 million in November last year — the second monthly surplus of the Aquino administration. In August last year, the government posted a budget surplus of P1.3 billion, government records showed. The budget surplus in November last year was a turnaround from the P6.4-billion budget deficit posted in November in 2009. Also, the November 2010 budget surplus was a reversal from the P10.5-billion budget deficit in October last year. The budget surplus in November last year brought the January-November fiscal position to a budget deficit of P269.8 billion, narrower than the P272.5 billion registered in the same period in 2009. This year, the Aquino administration is hoping to contain the budget deficit at P290 billion or 3.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) from last year's programmed ceiling of P325 billion or 3.9 percent of GDP. — JE, GMANews.TV