Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
The economic team of the Marcos administration vowed to work closely with Congress in pushing for key reforms crucial to accelerating economic development, Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.
Diokno said the approval of proposed legislative reforms would help ensure the funding for the P5.77-trillion national government budget for 2024 and attain the deficit target of 5.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year as specified in the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF).
The DOF earlier endorsed the passage of the Real Property Valuation and Assessment (RPVAR) Bill; Ease of Paying Taxes (EOPT) Bill; Automatic Income Classification of Local Government Units Bill; Excise Tax on Single-Use Plastics (SUPs) Bill; and the Rationalization of the Mining Fiscal Regime Bill.
Diokno said the Philippines remained on track to achieving its medium-term fiscal targets based on the latest revenue, deficit and debt-to-GDP ratios.
Data showed that as of October 2023, the fiscal deficit stood at P1.02 trillion, an 8.5-percent decline from the same period in 2022.
The national government (NG) deficit-to-GDP ratio reached 5.7 percent in the first three quarters of 2023, still below the full-year target of 6.1 percent.
Revenue collection increased to P3.22 trillion in the first 10 months of 2023, exceeding the revenue target for the period by 5.2 percent.
Given the robust revenue performance, the DBCC expects revenues to reach P3.85 trillion in 2023, equivalent to 15.7 percent of GDP in 2023. This surpassed the MTFF’s full-year revenue collection target of P3.63 trillion, equivalent to 15.3 percent of GDP.
The debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 60.2 percent as of end-September 2023, also below the MTFF full-year target of 61.2 percent.
The Philippines managed to maintain its investor-grade credit ratings amid a sea of downgrades in other economies, including the US. — Darwin G. Amojelar
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