THE government’s budget balance swung into a deficit in February as spending outpaced revenues, Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data showed on Tuesday.
The P171.2-billion shortfall — from revenues of P361.3 billion and expenditures of P532.5 billion — was a reversal from January’s P165.4-billion surplus but improved slightly from the year-earlier deficit of P171.4 billion.
“The national government’s (NG) fiscal position improved in February 2026 with [the] budget deficit slightly down,” the Treasury said in a statement.
Early dividend remittances, it added, “pushed revenue growth to 43.52 percent and helped offset expenditure expansion.”
The year to date budget balance remained in deficit at P5.8 trillion, markedly lower than the P103.1 trillion recorded in January-February 2025.
February’s revenues rose from the yearago P251.8 billion but were lower than the P468.9 billion in January. Spending, meanwhile, increased by 25.83 percent from P423.2 billion and the prior month’s P305.5 billion.
Year to date, revenues and expenditures grew by 15.48 percent and 1.70 percent, respectively, to P830.2 billion and P836.0 billion from P718.9 billion and P822.0 billion.
Revenues from taxes grew by 6.59 percent to P249.8 billion in March from P234.3 billion in February and were up 3.09 percent year to date to P692.6 billion from P671.9 billion.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) accounted for the bulk of February tax revenues at P173.2 billion, 8.51 percent higher than the P159.7 billion recorded a year ago. It was, however, lower than January’s P358.7 billion.
To date, BIR collections grew 3.33 percent to P531.9 billion from P514.7 billion.
The Bureau of Customs, meanwhile, saw February collections rise by 2.68 percent to P73.7 billion from P71.8 billion a year earlier. This pushed the January-February tally up 2.39 percent to P154.6 billion from P151.0 billion.
The tax take from other offices dropped by 1.98 percent to P2.9 billion and was 0.62 percent lower at P6.1 billion year to date.
Nontax revenues, meanwhile, surged by 540.23 percent to P111.5 billion from P17.4 billion a year earlier. Year to date, it accelerated by 192.51 percent to P137.6 billion from P47.0 billion.
Treasury collections alone surged by 1,104.24 percent to P95.4 billion in February from P7.9 billion a year ago. This brought the two-month tally to P109.1 billion, up 360.85 percent from P23.7 billion.
Other offices generated nontax revenues of P16.2 billion in February, up 70 percent. The two-month total of P28.5 billion was also higher by 22.02 percent from P23.4 billion.
Primary expenditures, meanwhile, accounted for P483.6 billion of spending in February, up 29.04 percent from P374.8 billion a year earlier.
Interest payments, which accounted for the rest, rose 1.0 percent to P48.9 billion from P48.4 billion.
Excluding interest payments, the national government recorded a primary surplus of P170.9 billion for the first two months of the year, 243.23 percent higher than the P49.8 billion last year.