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REVENUE GOAL CUT TO ₧4.5T ON SLOW GROWTH www.businessmirror.com.ph
By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
Category BIR Collection BOC Collection Privatization Revenue Non-Tax Revenues Total Revenue
“We had to revise the medium-term framework because of external factors like the Ukraine and Middle East conflicts.” — Karlo F. Adriano, DOF Assistant Secretary
“This reflects our resolve to uphold fiscal discipline amid global uncertainties.” — Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, DBCC Chairperson
that the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) target was reduced by about P13 billion due to lower GDP expectations.
The BIR’s target collection is now at P3.219 trillion from the initial goal of P3.232 trillion. Adriano said a huge chunk was reduced from the Bureau of Customs’ (BOC) revenue target because of lower tariff collections on rice and lower import growth. Supposedly, the BOC is set to collect P1.064 billion this year, but this could now be more or less P990 million. Meanwhile, revenues expected from privatizing idle government assets were lowered to P5 billion from the initial target of P101 billion, while non-tax revenues were increased to P306.8 billion from P210.8 billion. Adriano said non-tax revenues, particularly dividend remittances from state-run corporations, will drive up collection and plug the deficit in tax revenues. Moreover, the government also expects a slightly wider budget deficit this year at P1.561 trillion, or 5.5 percent of GDP, from P1.537 trillion previously. Adriano said the government had to revise upward the deficit program from the 3-percent target the Marcos Jr. administration aimed for when it assumed office in 2022.
Original Target Revised Target P3.232T P3.219T P1.064T P0.990T P101B P5B P210.8B P306.8B P4.644T P4.520T
“We had revised the mediumterm fiscal framework because when we first crafted that, these external factors were not yet taken into account. Like for instance, we already had a war in Ukraine and Russia. We already had another war in the Middle East, and so many global uncertainties,” Adriano said. There is still fiscal consolidation, Adriano said, as the deficit will still decrease from 2025 to 2028. “What we plan to do is that we will have to spend more because of these uncertainties. So that will ensure that we will meet our goal targets,” Adriano added. Expenditures of the government are set at P6.082 trillion this year, or 21.4 percent of GDP. This will increase to P7.466 trillion in 2028, or 20.6 percent of GDP. This will remain a major growth driver over the medium term, with infrastructure spending and public investments as the priorities. “This well-calibrated approach reflects our strong resolve to uphold fiscal discipline without compromising our goals of inclusive and sustainable development, even amid a more challenging global landscape,” DBCC Chairperson and Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said.
Loans decline as real estate prices surge in Q1
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HE dream of Filipinos to own a home remains out of reach as real-estate prices surged in the first quarter, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). With the increase in housing prices, BSP’s Residential Property Price Index (RRPI) showed real-estate loans granted by banks also contracted in the first three months of the year. The RRPI showed residential property prices for all housing units rose 7.6 percent in the first quarter of 2025 from the 7.4 percent posted in the same period last year.
PRICE SURGE SNAPSHOT
Residential Property Price Index (RPPI) Nationwide prices ▲ 7.6% YoY (Q1 2025) Condo prices ▲ 10.6% House prices ▲ 4.5%
NCR Prices (Q1 2025): Condos ▲ 14.2% (from 6.6%) Other housing types ▲ 11.2% (from 4.3%)
“All housing categories contributed to the year-on-year growth of the nationwide RPPI. Specifically, prices of condominium units rose by 10.6 percent, while house prices increased by 4.5 percent,” BSP said.
MEDIAN PRICES (NATIONWIDE) All types: P3.37M Condos: P4.35M Houses: P2.95M NCR houses: P7.72M (highest) Condos outside NCR: P2.54M (lowest)
BM Graphics: Ed Davad
By Cai U. Ordinario
P25.00 nationwide | 16 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
FISCAL TARGETS BREAKDOWN (2025)
HE Marcos Jr. administration reduced its revenue target to P4.520 trillion this year on prospects of slower economic growth, reduced import volumes and lower tariff collections. In the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee’s (DBCC) 191st meeting, the country’s fiscal program was reviewed and lowered due to heightened global uncertainties. For this year, the revenue target was slashed to P4.520 trillion from the earlier target of P4.644 trillion as the economy is seen to grow slower than expected. The DBCC trimmed its growth outlook to 5.5 to 6.5 percent this year from the previous projection of 6 to 8 percent. Still, the economic team expects revenue collections to increase steadily, reaching P5.914 trillion or 16.3 percent of the country’s GDP by 2028. The government is banking on the value-added tax on non-resident digital service providers and capital markets efficiency promotion, as well as the sustained improvements in tax administration, compliance enforcement and digitalization initiatives. Department of Finance (DOF) Assistant Secretary Karlo F. Adriano said at Thursday’s press briefing
Saturday, June 28, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 258
“Notably, house prices have shown signs of leveling off in recent periods, accompanied by slower annual growth in Q1 (first quarter) 2025. This trend may be partly attributed to the declining number of transactions in the NCR (National
Capital Region), where median house prices remain significantly higher than the rest of the country,” it added. In NCR, the data showed y-oy growth in residential property prices was driven by increases across all housing types. Prices of condominium units in the region showed a growth of 14.2 percent in the first quarter 2025 from 6.6 percent in the same period last year. NCR housing prices for single-attached or detached, apartments, townhouses, and duplexes, increased 11.2 percent in the first quarter of 2025, from only 4.3 percent in the same period last year.
BM Graphics: Ed Davad
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Remembering FedEx’s Fred Smith, who helped us believe more in ourselves
FedEx’s visionary founder Fred Smith, seen here being given a tour around Subic freeport zone by then-President Fidel V. Ramos and then SBMA chief Richard J. Gordon, has died. Gordon, who was later elected senator, shares his recollections of FedEx’s founder on Page A2, “Remembering FedEx’s Fred Smith, who helped us believe more in ourselves.”
FRONTLOADING VS TARIFF HIKE DRIVES UP PHL EXPORTS 15.1% By Andrea E. San Juan
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RONTLOADING of export orders before Washington’s tariff policy fully takes effect propelled Philippine exports in May 2025, which posted the fastest growth rate since April 2024 and the highest value since October 2022, Philippine economists explained. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the country’s export receipts grew by 15.1 percent to $7.29 billion in May 2025 from the $6.33 billion export revenues in May 2024. The country’s exports also posted a double-digit growth in the year-to-date scenario, or in the January to May 2025 period. Continued on A2
FASTEST GROWTH SINCE APRIL 2024 ▲ +15.1% YoY Growth in exports
$7.29B in May 2025 vs $6.33B in May 2024 Highest monthly value since October 2022
YEAR-TO-DATE (JAN–MAY 2025) Total Exports: $34.20B
▲ Up 10.8% vs $30.87B in Jan–May 2024
US: Still No. 1 Export Market Exports to the US: $5.38B in Jan–May 2025 ▲ +9.1% vs $4.93B in 2024 Share of total exports: 15.7%
Continued on A2
Protesters in Manila, 5 continents seek global financial system change ASIAN PEOPLES’ MOVEMENT ON DEBT AND DEVELOPMENT
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VER a thousand members of economic, finance and climate justice groups marched to the US Embassy on Friday to demand major reforms to the global economic and financial system, in time for the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) in Sevilla, Spain. There, world leaders will meet from June 30 to July 3 to address the financing needs of the developing world. The march in Manila was organized by the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), as part of worldwide protests held simultaneously in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and Latin America. According to the OECD, the gap between development financing needs and available resources will rise to USD6.4 trillion by 2030 without a drastic overhaul of the
global financial system. The global actions called for wealth taxes to generate revenue and debt cancellation to free up fiscal space. Protesters also called on the governments of rich countries to deliver climate finance to developing countries, as economic losses
induced by climate change exhaust their public funds. Since 2015, development finance needs have risen by 36 percent, partly due to the impacts of the climate crisis, they said. The FFD4 also presents a historic opportunity to continue pushing for democratic debt
governance through a UN Debt Convention, away from decisionmaking spaces dominated by the IMF, the World Bank, and Global North lenders, said the organizers. Although the US, UK, EU, Japan, Switzerland and other Global North countries blocked the path in the negotiations to achieve this measure, the fight continues as civil society mounts global protests against a broken and unjust financial architecture that has led to the accumulation of unsustainable and illegitimate debts. This year, debt service payments will cost the Philippines up to P877 billion or 13.8 percent of the national budget. “The Philippines is one of many developing countries caught in a worsening debt crisis, with no end in sight as lenders push debt as the solution to many problems, Continued on A2
STAMPED IN HISTORY: PHL CELEBRATES 80 YEARS WITH U.N. Foreign Affairs
Secretary Enrique A. Manalo and Postmaster General and CEO Luis D. Carlos are seen at the launch of the UN80 Commemorative Stamps at the historic Old Senate Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila. Manalo delivered the keynote address reflecting on the Philippines’ legacy and evolving role in the United Nations over the past eight decades. The event, organized by the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), marks 80 years of the Philippines’ membership in the UN and celebrates the country’s enduring commitment to multilateral cooperation, peace, and development. PHLPOST
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 56.6270 n JAPAN 0.3924 n UK 77.7715 n HK 7.2144 n CHINA 7.9009 n SINGAPORE 44.4691 n AUSTRALIA 37.0624 n EU 66.2536 n KOREA 0.0418 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.0989 Source: BSP (June 27, 2025)