2-mo budget gap narrows by 94.3% to ₧5.8B By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
T BULB PRICES SWELL An onion vendor arranges red and white onions in Cabanatuan as prices rise to between P300 and P400 per sack, depending on size, driven in part by higher fuel costs that have increased farm-to-market transport expenses. Amid the price pressures, the Department of Agriculture said eight institutional buyers are looking to source up to 16 metric tons of onions monthly from Mindoro, a key producer grappling with declining farmgate prices. Shipments are planned for major markets, including Cavite and Metro Manila, using Kadiwa trucks to help reduce logistics costs. ROY DOMINGO
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HE national government’s budget deficit narrowed by nearly 95 percent to P5.8 billion in the first two months of the year, on the back of a surge in non-tax revenues and restrained spending. Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed the fiscal gap tapered by 94.35 percent to P5.8 billion as of February 2026 from P103.1 billion in the same period last year. This comes after government spending of P836 billion slightly exceeded revenue collections worth P830.2 billion. Revenues rose by 15.48 percent year-on-year from P718.9 billion, outpacing the 1.7-percent increase in spending from P822 billion. “Our strong fiscal performance in February sets
us up for a stable first quarter of this year,” Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go said in a statement on Tuesday. “This acts as our safety net, giving us the resources to support the economy, especially during this time of uncertainty.” In February alone, the budget deficit inched down by 0.14 percent to P171.2 billion from last year’s P171.4 billion. This was due to the early remittance of dividends that improved revenue growth by 43.52 percent year-on-year and helped offset the 25.83-percent jump in expenditures. Non-tax revenues in February surged by 540.23 percent year-on-year to P111.5 billion from P17.4 billion, driven by earlier-than-usual remittance of dividends earned in 2025. Meanwhile, tax revenues increased by 6.59 percent to P249.8 billion in February from
P234.3 billion a year ago. The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) posted a 8.51-percent growth in February, with collections rising to P173.2 billion from P159.7 billion a year ago. The BIR’s steady improvement is a result of ongoing measures to boost taxpayer compliance nationwide, the Treasury noted. Revenues raised by the Bureau of Customs also went up by 2.68 percent to P73.3 billion in February from P71.8 billion last year. “Apart from the BOC’s strengthened enforcement and compliance measures, the uptick in the Bureau’s collection can also be attributed to the peso’s year-over-year depreciation,” the Treasury said. The cost of imported goods increased as the dollar’s value went up by 0.3 percent year-onyear to P58.3 in February.
On the spending side, primary expenditures expanded by 29.04 percent year-on-year to P532.5 billion in February from P374.8 billion. This was due to the spillover of National Tax Allotment released in January and the block grant disbursed in early February, including transfers of local governments’ shares in the tobacco excise taxes. Meanwhile, interest payments rose by 1 percent to P48.9 billion in February from last year’s P48.4 billion. “With tax and non-tax revenues growing and expenditures kept targeted, we have successfully reduced our fiscal deficit,” Secretary Go said. “This fiscal buffer allows us space to provide timely, targeted, and managed subsidies to help those most affected in our country by the Middle East event.”
BusinessMirror A broader look at today’s business
See “Budget,” A2
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MARCH INFLATION AT 4.1%, HIGH PRICES TO PERSIST www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Wednesday, April 8, 2026 Vol. 21 No. 176
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
GEOPOLITICS AT THE PUMP Commuters along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City face long waits on Tuesday, April 7, 2026, as nearly half of jeepney operators halt operations due to rising diesel
prices. At a nearby gas station, fuel costs climbed again—diesel up by P19.80 per liter, gasoline by P5.90, and kerosene by P9.10—driven in part by global oil market volatility linked to the ongoing war in Iran. The spike has left commuters scrambling for rides while stretching household budgets, showing how international tensions can ripple into the daily grind of Metro Manila streets. NONOY LACZA
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By Justine Xyrah Garcia
RICES of basic commodities are expected to remain elevated in the coming months as higher oil prices continue to ripple through the economy, with economists warning this could mirror the surge seen during the RussiaUkraine war.
On Tuesday, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that headline inflation climbed to 4.1 percent in March, the fastest in nearly two years. This is the quickest pace since July 2024, when inflation reached 4.4 percent. Despite the latest inflation print exceeding expectations of the market and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), economists warned, however, against aggressive monetary tightening or raising borrowing costs to curb inflation as this could slow economic activity further or worse, could trigger recession. Story in B3 Banking Much of the March acceleration, the PSA said, was traced to higher global oil prices amid tensions in the Middle East, which pushed up fuel costs and fed into broader price pressures. A similar pattern emerged during the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, when surg-
ing oil prices drove transport and food costs higher, pushing headline inflation to a peak of 8.1 percent that year. Following this pattern, University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) economist Peter Lee U said broader price pressures are likely to persist. “Inflation can still go up because the second-round effects take time to work through the economy. I expect prices to rise even if [international] oil prices hover around where they are now,” U told the BusinessMirror. Reuters data showed Brent crude futures rose 1 percent to $111.53 per barrel on early Tuesday, extending gains to more than 50 percent since the conflict began. Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) economist Luis F. Dumlao echoed this view, warning that second-round effects will likely continue to push prices higher in the coming months. See “Inflation,” A2
DOE: Fuel inventory still safe at 50 days By Lenie Lectura
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@llectura
HE Department of Energy (DOE) reported Tuesday the country’s fuel inventory remains at a comfortable level, with around 50 days of supply. As of April 3, the total available days’ supply, both in-country stock and total confirmed for delivery from April 4 to May 1, remains at 50 days. Gasoline stocks will last for 57 days, diesel for 47 days, kerosene for 106 days, jet fuel for 66 days, fuel oil for 52 days, and LPG (liquefied natural gas) for 33 days. For this week, the average oil price hikes for gasoline products range from P1 per liter to P2.9 per liter, diesel from P11.80 to P14 per liter, kerosene from P1.30 to P2.50 per liter. As a result, diesel is now sold as high as P154.20 per liter, gasoline at P104 .10 per liter, and kerosene at P169.29 per liter. “I do not expect [it] to go down as fast as it went up,” DOE Secretary Sharon Garin said referring to pump prices. During an online briefing, Garin
announced that the country will take delivery of 900,000 barrels of diesel this month. The first batch, consisting of 300,000 barrels, will arrive on Friday, April 10, according to DOE Undersecretary Alessandro Sales. “The first cargo for April is confirmed. It is coming into the country on April 10. The source is from Malaysia through Singapore trader, Vitol trading. The next two cargoes are expected in the second up to the third week of April. The nominated source is from North Asia and potentially India. The volumes are already contracted,” added Sales. The agency assured the public that it continues to source from other countries such as Africa, Australia, United States of America. “We need to open agreements there so we can also access from other countries,” said Garin. DOE-Oil Management Bureau Director Rino Abad said Saudi Aramco’s deal with Unioil Philippines could bolster fuel supply in the Philippines. It may be recalled that Saudi Aramco has officially entered a strategic partnership with Unioil Petroleum Philippines, Inc., acquiring a 25-percent See “Fuel,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 60.4000 n JAPAN 0.3785 n UK 79.9817 n HK 7.7073 n CHINA 8.7715 n SINGAPORE 47.0332 n AUSTRALIA 41.7726 n EU 69.7258 n KOREA 0.0400 n SAUDI ARABIA 16.0869 Source: BSP (April 7, 2026)