Public sector incurs P8.6-billion H1deficit

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s consolidated public sector deficit (CPSD) for the first semester of the year is estimated at P8.6 billion, Finance Undersecretary Jeremias Paul said in the latest CPSD report.

The latest CPSD level — which is only 0.2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) — compares favorably to the full-year program of P213.9 billion or two percent of GDP, Paul said.

Paul also said the latest data indicates that the government is making a  headway in its efforts to trim the debt of the public sector through prudent spending and enhanced debt liability measures.

It is also a long way down the CPSD level of P178.7 billion in 2011 or 1.8 percent of GDP and the whopping P355.8 billion or four percent of GDP recorded in 2010.

The country’s consolidated public sector fiscal position is the combined budget deficits or surpluses of the National Government and state-owned firms. These include government-owned and controlled corporations, local government units and government financial institutions.

Closely monitored by local and foreign debt watchers, the consolidated public sector fiscal position is an indication of a country’s credit risk.

The government has been trying to impose prudent spending and financial discipline on state-owned agencies to improve the country’s fiscal position.

Next year, the CPSD is projected to hit roughly P158.3 billion or 1.3 percent of GDP as the government continues to undertake measures that would reduce public debt.

The government has been trying to trim the CPSD by closely monitoring the operations of state-owned agencies and other government corporations.

Minus the combined deficits of state-owned corporations, the government hopes to post a budget gap of P279 billion this year or roughly 2.6 percent of GDP.

Last year, the National Government recorded a budget deficit of P197.7 billion or two percent of GDP.

For 2013, the government has programmed a deficit of P241 billion or two percent of GDP.

Latest data from the Finance department showed that the government has recorded a budget gap of P34.854 billion in September, wider than the P18.501 billion it posted a year ago as it continued to accelerate public spending and boost revenues.

The September deficit brought the end-September budget gap to P106.062 billion, also wider than the P52.994 billion it posted in the same period a year ago as both revenues and expenditures improved during the nine-month period.