Manila: The national government of the Philippines recorded a PHP31.4 billion budget surplus in April, as reported by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr). This surplus has contributed to a reduction in the budget deficit for the period from January to April.
According to Philippines News Agency, the latest cash operations report from the BTr indicated that while the April surplus was lower than the PHP67.3 billion recorded in the same month last year, expenditures increased by 11.14 percent, surpassing the 2.83 percent growth in government revenues. Government revenues amounted to PHP536.8 billion, an increase from PHP522.1 billion in the previous year.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) saw a slight rise in collections, with a 0.41 percent increase to PHP422.2 billion, up from PHP420.5 billion in April 2025. The BTr attributed this slower growth to the extension of the filing and payment deadline for annual income tax returns (AITR) due to the declaration of a State of National Energy Emergency.
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) recorded a notable 15.52 percent growth in collections, reaching PHP86.3 billion, compared to PHP74.7 billion last year. This growth was attributed to enhanced valuation and monitoring systems and the ongoing digitalization of customs processes under the Integrity, Accountability, and Modernization (IAM) Program.
Non-tax revenues also improved to PHP25.8 billion in April, a 7.32 percent increase from the PHP24.1 billion recorded in the same month last year. This improvement was supported by PHP160 million in restitution funds from flood control projects and PHP623.9 million in privatization proceeds in April 2026.
Government expenditures rose by 11.4 percent from PHP454.8 billion last year to PHP505.4 billion this year. This increase was driven by higher National Tax Allotment (NTA) shares for local government units, the Annual Block Grant for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), releases from the Local Government Support Fund, and increased budgetary support for government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), especially the return of PHP60 billion in excess funds to PhilHealth. Direct payments from development partners for various foreign-assisted railway projects also contributed to the higher disbursements.
For the first four months of the year, the budget deficit decreased by 14.44 percent to PHP324.1 billion from the PHP378.7 billion shortfall recorded in the same period last year. Cumulative collections grew by 9.99 percent to PHP1.67 trillion, up from PHP1.52 trillion in the comparable period last year. BIR collections rose to PHP1.14 trillion, surpassing the previous year's PHP1.11 trillion, and total BOC collections amounted to PHP325.7 billion, exceeding last year's PHP306.1 billion by 6.41 percent.
Cumulative non-tax collections reached PHP192 billion, more than double last year's PHP90.7 billion, aided by early dividend remittances from some GOCCs. Meanwhile, spending in the first four months of the year increased to PHP2 trillion, 5.12 percent higher than the PHP1.9 trillion disbursed during the same period last year.
