The government will be borrowing almost ₱5 billion every day next year to fund national expenditure, the Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Ralph Recto said on Tuesday.

During the Senate budget deliberations, the finance chief admitted that the government is obligated to borrow additional funds as tax collections fall short of its everyday spending, reported RH 28 Raymund Dadpaas.

He explained that for 2026, the government’s daily expenditure totals ₱18.61 billion, whereas the average daily collection only amounts to ₱13.65 billion. Hence, the government will have to borrow ₱4.51 billion every day.

The 2026 national budget has been set at ₱6.79 trillion; however, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) can only collect ₱4.98 trillion in taxes.