Government deficit nearly doubles to ₱161.3B in August

PhilHealth support and rising debt interest costs push the Philippines’ eight-month fiscal gap to ₱1.05 trillion.

The government spent ₱507.3 billion in August, but collected only ₱346 billion, leaving the country with a ₱161.3-billion budget deficit for the month.

That deficit was 90.23% higher than the ₱84.8 billion recorded in August last year, according to the Bureau of the Treasury.

One of the biggest expenses was ₱58.6 billion in budgetary support for PhilHealth premiums of indigent and senior citizen members, helping keep health insurance coverage in place for Filipinos who need government assistance.

The government is also spending heavily to service its debt. Interest payments reached ₱686.5 billion in the first eight months of the year, up 17.52% from the same period in 2025.

Meanwhile, government revenues in August slipped 1.85% to ₱346 billion, partly because non-tax collections fell and tax refunds increased.

The latest figures bring the government’s January-to-August deficit to ₱1.05 trillion, up 21.3% from last year’s ₱869.2 billion. The BTr said this remains within the government’s ₱1.66-trillion full-year program.

The money behind those figures comes largely from the economy, including taxes paid by workers and businesses and collections from imports. At the same time, the government is funding public services such as PhilHealth while spending hundreds of billions on existing debt.

The result is a government spending more than it collects, with the cost of servicing its debt continuing to climb.

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