Q1 budget deficit 80% narrower than expected

The government's budget deficit in the first quarter of the year was 80 percent narrower than the programmed ceiling for the period, the Department of Finance said Wednesday. The government registered a P26.2-billion deficit during the first three months, compared with the programmed shortfall of P111.98 billion, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said in a statement. It was achieved by withholding P82 billion in programmed spending, with the government having spent only P349.28 billion when the program called for a disbursement of P431.26 billion. In March alone, the deficit was 72 percent narrower, the department said. “The deficit in March amounted to P18.1 billion, 71.6 percent lower than the P63.9 billion posted in the same month last year and significantly lower than the P59.7 billion programmed shortfall for the month," Purisima said. The strong performance of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs, coupled with the judicious spending that focused only on priority programs, kept the deficit in check, the Finance chief claimed. During the three-month period, revenues totaled P323.07 billion and exceeded the collection goal of P319.27 billion. Sources, however, said the more plausible explanation for the cautious spending was Purisima’s insistence on reviewing every spending program he inherited from the previous regime, with a view of cutting down costs. Purisima has called this approach the zero-budget process. — JMT/PE/VS, GMA News