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Philippines sees 1.44 billion USD budget deficit in June

he Philippine Government posted a budget deficit of 62.5 billion pesos (1.44 billion USD) in June as it increased spending to boost economic growth.
The Philippine Government posted a budget deficit of 62.5 billionpesos (1.44 billion USD) in June as it increased spending to boosteconomic growth.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said efforts to speed up disbursement in the second quarter led to such a deficit.

Thecountry’s June expenditure rose 44 percent year on year to 201.13billion pesos as the Government beefed up investment in public works tospur economic activities. It raised the six-month expenditure to 987.7billion pesos, up 11 percent from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, thebudget revenue in June increased by 6 percent to 138.6 billion pesos(3.19 billion USD), pushing the first-half figure up by 11.2 percentyear-on-year to 933.7 billion pesos (21.54 billion USD).-VNA
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