Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III
MANILA – Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the government spending according to program and additional requirements are being addressed through prudent borrowings.
Dominguez replied to a question regarding President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s statement that the government is running out of funds to finance additional expenses related to its coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) response.
“We have to distinguish between our cash and our ability to borrow and what we are authorized to spend (in) our budget,” he said.
Dominguez said the government is mandated by law to spend based on its annual budget, which amounts to PHP4.1 trillion for this year.
He said the Constitution prohibits the government from having an additional supplemental budget without supplemental revenues.
“As you know our tax revenues are down and savings, basically re-allocations within our budget, are pretty much used up. So, essentially, we have our PHP4.1-trillion budget and we have used it judiciously,” he said during an interview by Bloomberg television Friday.
Dominguez said the government plans to borrow about USD60 billion annually for this and next year, with bulk or about 75 percent to be sourced domestically while the balance of 25 percent will be tapped overseas.
“And we feel that our credit ratings have been maintained and not downgraded and we have been able to tap both local and foreign markets at very favorable interest rates and tenors. So our ability to tap markets is very strong,” he added. (PNA)
