The fiscal outcomes under the BBM Administration reflected the government’s consolidation-with-growth stance, with revenues strengthening faster than expenditures and the deficit gradually narrowing. Owing to data availability, we can only analyze the fiscal results for fiscal years 2023 and 2024. In 2023, the National Government recorded a deficit of PhP 1.51 trillion (6.2 % of GDP), an improvement from the 7.3 % deficit in 2022, as revenue rose to PhP 3.82 trillion. Collections remained predominantly tax-based at PhP 3.43 trillion—about 90 % of the total—while non-tax revenues increased as a result of higher dividend remittances and investment outcome.

            In 2024, consolidation advanced as the deficit improved further to PhP1.51 trillion (5. % of GDP). Revenues grew sharply to PhP 4.42 trillion, with tax collections reaching PhP 3.80 trillion and lifting tax effort to 14.4 % of GDP. Non-tax revenues also surged, supported by dividend remittances, concession fees, and one-off transfers. On the expenditures side, disbursements reached PhP 5.34 trillion in 2023, driven mainly by higher infrastructure outlays, interest payments, and personnel services. In 2024, spending increased further to PhP 5.93 trillion (22.4 % of GDP) as a result of higher interest rates, expanded social health programs, increased LGU transfers, and sustained infrastructure spending under the Build Better More program. Infrastructure disbursements reached about 5.8 % of GDP in 2024, within the target band. Unfortunately, as subsequent events in 2025 exposed, a large part of these sums were fritted away in the worst corruption scandal involving DPWH officials, members of the Legislative body and private contractors who stole trillions of pesos from public coffers that were supposed to be invested in flood control projects. These outrageous cases of public stealing did not, however, take away anything from the merits due to our fiscal managers for their excellent management of our fiscal affairs.

            Overall fiscal indicators point to a gradual consolidation path: revenue effort improved from 14.1 % to 14.4 % of GDP, while expenditure effort rose from 21.9 % to 22.4 %. The deficit narrowed modestly, and the debt to GDP ratio remained broadly stable at around 60 % of GDP, even as nominal debt increased from PhP14.6 trillion in 2023 to PhP 16.1 trillion in 2024. The BBM Administration has largely preserved the elevated share of economic services, signaling continuity of the Build Better More drive, while giving substantial allocations for social programs. Interest payments, however, now account for a larger share of the budget than during the Noynoy Aquino period, reflecting higher debt levels and tighter global financing conditions.

            Viewed together, the three successive Administrations (Noynoy, Duterte, BBM) form a continuous macro-fiscal cycle rather than three isolated policy episodes. This important fact reflects the technocratic approach to fiscal management, largely free from political interferences. Each administration inherited a different set of constraints and, in response, adapted a distinct fiscal stance. The Nonoy administration focused on restoring credibility and rebuilding fiscal space; the Duterte administration used that fiscal space to finance a large Build Build Build (BBB) program before the pandemic forced emergency spending; and the BBM administration assumed office with elevated debt and inflation, thus requiring a consolidation-with-growth strategy.

            Under the Noynoy Administration, fiscal policy was anchored on governance reforms and revenue mobilization. The Duterte Administration marked a clear shift toward expansionary and infrastructure-led growth. The BBM Administration represents the stabilization phase of this cycle that covers three presidential terms. Taken together, the three Administrations trace a coherent fiscal arc. The Noynoy government rebuilt credibility and reduced debt to GDP ratios. The Duterte period deployed that fiscal space for infrastructure expansion and absorbed the fiscal costs of the pandemic. The current BBM Administration is now trying to consolidate the balance sheet while sustaining growth-supporting investments under tighter global conditions. The trajectory is therefore best understood as a progression—from governance-led consolidation, to infrastructure-driven expansion to stabilization—shaped by the evolving economic context rather than abrupt policy reversals. This continuous macro-fiscal cycle can only happen if knowledgeable professionals or technocrats are in charge and not politicians. It is hoped that future Presidents will continue this practice of relying on technocrats in the formulation of long-term policies and managing the day-to-day operations of the national economy. For comments, my email address is bernardo.villegas@uap.asia.