RP reports budget surplus

RP reports budget surplus

MANILA (AFP): The Philippines reported a budget surplus of 15.44 billion pesos (US$643 million) for the first 10 months of this year, the finance department said yesterday.

The department had predicted a deficit of 4.81 billion pesos. A department statement attributed the surplus to "tight cash management, as well as to intensified collections."

The department also had lower-than-expected disbursements due to a decline in interest payments on debts and advances to government-controlled corporations.

Revenues from January 1 to October 22 totaled 264.19 billion pesos ($11 billion), while expenditures amounted to 248.76 billion pesos.

Revenues were higher by 9.44 billion pesos than the original target for the period, while expenses were 10.81 billion pesos lower than forecast.

The huge savings was largely due to the appreciation of the peso against the U.S. dollar by nearly 15 percent since early this year, as well as to lower interest rates on government securities. Those rates have dropped by over 40 percent since December.