PHILIPPINE economic managers plan a minimal deficit in 2010 to sustain the growth of the economy amid the global financial crisis.

Ralph Recto, chief of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said the Development Budget and Coordinating Committee (DBCC) is looking at a deficit of between 0.5 percent and 1 percent by 2010.

“It’s hard to have a balanced budget by 2010. There might be a need to have a deficit [to sustain growth],” Recto told reporters.

The government has put off its original plan to balance the budget this year to address the economic slowdown and skyrocketing commodity prices.

In 2009, the government has programmed a P40-billion budget deficit, but a high-ranking Finance official said this is unlikely to be met as the government plans to pump prime the economy through a P102-billion deficit spending.

In the first 10 months, the country posted a funding shortfall of P62.3 billion, more than 50- percent higher than the programmed P41.5 billion due to below-target collections of the country’s main tax agency.

The government had collected total revenues of P972.6 billion from the P896 billion a year ago, while expenditures grew 10 percent to P1.035 billion year-on-year.

Of the total revenues, the Bureau of Internal Revenue contributed P644.8 billion, a 12-percent growth from P574.4 billion last year, but still P20-billion short of the end-October target. The Bureau of Customs, meanwhile, collected P218.2 billion, a 27-percent increase from last year.

Revenues from the Bureau of Treasury and other offices amoun­ted to P53.1 billion and P56.4 billion, respectively

Source: Darwin G. Amojelar