Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno (file photo)
MANILA – Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Tuesday cited the importance of revenue collection in attaining the government's target.
In his speech during the 119th anniversary celebration of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, Diokno said the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is aiming to achieve three headline goals by the end of its term.
Diokno said these include reducing debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio to 51 percent, bringing down the deficit-to-GDP ratio to 3 percent and reducing the poverty incidence to single digit.
"Maintaining a healthy level of revenues is vital to the attainment of each of these targets," he said.
For the first half of the year, BIR's total collection went up by 7.7 percent to PHP1.2 trillion.
"Clearly, so much of our economic aspirations depend on the performance of this bureau," Diokno added.
BIR Commissioner Romeo Lumagui Jr. assured they will ramp up efforts to attain the PHP2.6 trillion collection target this year to support the government's bid to increase public investments.
"The revenue we collect fuels the development programs and initiatives that promote growth, alleviate poverty and provide essential services to our fellow citizens," he said.
"We will do our best to attain our target. Revenue collection is very important because we are supporting the Build Better More program," he added.
The administration’s Build Better More infrastructure program includes 194 Infrastructure Flagship Projects (IFPs) worth around PHP8.3 trillion.
"During his State of the Nation Address last July 24, 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. emphasized that higher collections will be critical in our bid to bolster public investments and that one of the keys to continued economic growth is infrastructure development," Lumagui said. (PNA)
