DBM chief welcomes 5.7% drop in budget deficit
BUDGET Secretary Amenah Pangandaman welcomed the drop in the country's budget deficit. In a statement on Friday, Pangandaman said that the decrease was better than expected. "We are very pleased with the report that our budget deficit for 2024 has gone down to 5.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or P1.506 trillion. This is better than expected," she said. Her remarks came after the Bureau of the Treasury released its Cash Operations Report on the government's fiscal performance for 2024. Pangandaman said this was the lowest recorded drop since the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago. "It is a marked improvement compared to the 6.2 percent deficit recorded in 2023, given the better-than-expected revenue and spending performance. This is also well within the fiscal outlook of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) at our last meeting," she said. Pangandaman credited President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his economic team "who have been at the forefront of ensuring that the macroeconomic targets of the administration are met." Last December, the DBCC met to revisit the government's medium-term macroeconomic assumptions and fiscal targets, that also includes the deficit outlook for 2024, which was expected to reach 5.7 percent of GDP at the time. Pangandaman said the performance was on track with the government's Agenda for Prosperity and "solidifies the Philippines' position as one of the dynamic emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region." By 2028, the DBCC expects to bring down the budget deficit to as low as 3.7 percent. "Through these efforts, we will continue to build a Bagong Pilipinas that fosters job creation, increases incomes and reduces poverty," Pangandaman said. According to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), government spending rose by 11.04 percent in 2024, surpassing the government's target by 2.97 percent. It said this development was "driven primarily by the accelerated implementation of various health and social protection programs, increased salaries for qualified government employees, and strong infrastructure and other capital outlays of the Department of Public Works and Highways, among others." In 2024, government revenues reached P4.419 trillion or 16.72 percent of GDP, higher by 15.56 percent than the previous year's. The government also exceeded its revenue target by 3.49 percent.
Tomas Kauer - Moderator 
BUDGET Secretary Amenah Pangandaman welcomed the drop in the country's budget deficit.
In a statement on Friday, Pangandaman said that the decrease was better than expected.
"We are very pleased with the report that our budget deficit for 2024 has gone down to 5.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), or P1.506 trillion. This is better than expected," she said.
Her remarks came after the Bureau of the Treasury released its Cash Operations Report on the government's fiscal performance for 2024.
Pangandaman said this was the lowest recorded drop since the Covid-19 pandemic five years ago.
"It is a marked improvement compared to the 6.2 percent deficit recorded in 2023, given the better-than-expected revenue and spending performance. This is also well within the fiscal outlook of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) at our last meeting," she said.
Pangandaman credited President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his economic team "who have been at the forefront of ensuring that the macroeconomic targets of the administration are met."
Last December, the DBCC met to revisit the government's medium-term macroeconomic assumptions and fiscal targets, that also includes the deficit outlook for 2024, which was expected to reach 5.7 percent of GDP at the time.
Pangandaman said the performance was on track with the government's Agenda for Prosperity and "solidifies the Philippines' position as one of the dynamic emerging economies in the Asia-Pacific region."
By 2028, the DBCC expects to bring down the budget deficit to as low as 3.7 percent.
"Through these efforts, we will continue to build a Bagong Pilipinas that fosters job creation, increases incomes and reduces poverty," Pangandaman said.
According to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), government spending rose by 11.04 percent in 2024, surpassing the government's target by 2.97 percent.
It said this development was "driven primarily by the accelerated implementation of various health and social protection programs, increased salaries for qualified government employees, and strong infrastructure and other capital outlays of the Department of Public Works and Highways, among others."
In 2024, government revenues reached P4.419 trillion or 16.72 percent of GDP, higher by 15.56 percent than the previous year's.
The government also exceeded its revenue target by 3.49 percent.
