The National Government will invest more than P165.4 billion in the budget in January

The National Government’s (NG) budget surplus more than doubled in January to P165.4 billion amid a double-digit decline in spending, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.

In a statement, the Department of Finance said NG posted a budget surplus of P165.4-billion in January, 141.91% higher than the P68.4-billion surplus a year ago due to “sustained revenue growth.”

Month-to-month, the budget balance changed to a surplus from a deficit of P313.17 billion in December of last year.

This was the first budget surplus posted since the P11.15 billion surplus in October 2025.

In January, revenue increased by 0.36% to P468.9 billion from P467.1 billion in the same month in 2025.

Tax collection, which accounts for 94.45% of total revenue, increased by 1.21% to P442.8 billion in January from P437.5 billion in January 2025.

The bulk of the tax revenue comes from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), whose collection increased by 1% to P358.7 billion in January from P355.1 billion in the same month in 2025.

“The continued growth of this organization is supported by its digitization initiatives and strong tax administration efforts,” said the Treasury.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Customs saw a 2.13% increase in collections to P80.9 billion in January, from P79.3 billion in the same month last year.

“The agency’s positive results were driven by its ongoing law enforcement programs, including the seizure of smuggled goods, the seizure of illegally imported vehicles, and the strengthening of compliance and tax control measures,” it added.

Offices collected by other offices amounted to P3.2 billion in January.

On the other hand, nontax income decreased by 12.08% to P26 billion, from P29.6 billion in the same month last year due to the “equalization of BTr’s income and NG’s share from Malampaya’s earnings.”

BTr posted a 13.17% drop in revenue to P13.7 billion last year, while other office collections dropped 10.85% to P12.4 billion.

Meanwhile, government spending dropped by 23.9% to P303.5 billion in January from P398.8 billion in the same month last year.

BTr attributed the decline to “restructuring of the transfer of local government units, and the underlying impact of capital expenditure in January of last year.”

It says the big payout last year was “due to the payment of accounts payable and the front-loading of other expenses before the election ban.”

Core spending—referring to total expenses minus interest payments—dropped 40.32% to P175.5 billion in January from P294.4 billion last year. It accounted for 57.88% of monthly payments.

Meanwhile, interest payments rose 22.39% to P127.8 billion in January from P104.4 billion last year, due to “additional debt incurred to finance last year’s deficit and changes in coupon payment period after refinancing.” – Justine Irish D. Tabile