Gov’t spending jumps nearly 20% to ₱588.6B in July

Higher social assistance, rail and AFP modernization outlays drive government spending increase.

The National Government’s spending jumped 19.82% in July to ₱588.6 billion, up from ₱491.2 billion a year earlier, as outlays for social assistance, defense modernization and rail projects increased.

The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said Thursday that the higher spending was driven partly by the Unified Package for Livelihood, Industry, Food, and Transport (UPLIFT) social assistance programs, AFP modernization outlays and foreign-assisted rail projects.

The increase in July spending came as government disbursements continued to build up during the year. From January to July, total disbursements reached ₱3.76 trillion, 7.02% higher than the ₱3.52 trillion recorded during the same period last year.

A large portion of that spending went to primary expenditures, which exclude interest payments. These reached ₱451.4 billion in July, up 17.25% from ₱385 billion a year earlier. For the first seven months, primary expenditures stood at ₱3.14 trillion, 4.91% higher than the ₱3 trillion recorded in 2025.

Meanwhile, the cost of servicing government debt also continued to rise. Interest payments reached ₱620.9 billion in the first seven months, including ₱137.2 billion in July alone, which was 29.14% higher than a year earlier.

With spending growing considerably faster than revenues, the increase in government outlays contributed to the National Government’s wider ₱106.3-billion budget deficit in July.

READ: