THE government’s budget balance swung to a deficit in May, Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data showed on Thursday.
The P198.5-billion shortfall — from revenues of P401.7 billion and expenditures of P600.2 billion — was a reversal from April’s P31.4-billion surplus and also wider than the year-earlier deficit of P145.2 billion.
The Treasury said it was due to the “impact of the early remittance of dividends,” which contributed to a 7.24 percent year-on-year decline in revenues.
The year-to-date budget balance remained in deficit at P522.5 billion, slightly lower than the P523.9 billion recorded in January-May 2025.
May revenues were lower than the yearago P433.1 billion and April’s P536.8 billion. Spending, meanwhile, rose from P578.2 billion and P505.4 billion a year and month earlier.
Year to date, revenues and expenditures grew by 6.17 percent and 4.81 percent, respectively, to P2.07 trillion and P2.59 trillion from P1.95 trillion and P2.47 trillion.
Revenues from taxes rose to P362.3 billion from P322.9 billion in May last year and were also higher at P1.84 trillion from P1.75 trillion year to date.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) accounted for the bulk of May tax revenues at P279.1 billion, up from the P242.7 billion recorded a year ago.
“The outturn was partly supported by the extension of the tax filing and payment deadline from April 15 to May 15, 2026,” the Treasury said.
To date, the agency’s collections grew to P1.42 trillion from P1.35 trillion.
The Bureau of Customs, meanwhile, saw May collections rise to P80 billion from P75.7 billion a year earlier. This pushed the January-May tally to P405.7 billion from P381.7 billion.
“The improvement was driven by enhanced valuation practices and strengthened revenue collection measures, which helped offset the impact of lower import volumes and the temporary suspension of excise taxes on LPG and kerosene,” the Treasury said.
The tax take from other offices plunged to P3.2 billion from P4.5 billion and was also lower year to date at P16.3 billion from P17 billion.
Nontax revenues, meanwhile, were markedly dropped to P39.4 billion in May from P110.2 billion a year earlier. Year to date, it grew to P231.4 billion from P200.9 billion.
Treasury collections alone dropped to P33.2 billion in May from P83.0 billion. This brought the five-month tally to P176.1 billion, up from P129.2 billion.
Other offices generated nontax revenues of P6.2 billion in May, significantly down from the yearago P27.2 billion. The five-month total of P55.3 billion was also lower compared to January-May 2025’s P71.7 billion.
Primary expenditures, meanwhile, accounted for P515.6 billion of spending in May, rising from P508.3 billion a year earlier.
Interest payments, which accounted for the rest, rose to P84.6 billion from P70 billion.
Excluding interest payments, the national government recorded a primary deficit of P101.3 billion for the first five months of the year, lower than last year’s P166.5 billion.
