The Philippine government strengthened its finances in the first eight months of 2025, with higher profit remittances helping the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) exceed its non-tax income targets.
Data from the BTr’s latest cash operations report showed total revenue collections from January to August reached ₱3.09 trillion ($52.5 billion), marking a 3.07% increase from the ₱2.99 trillion ($50.8 billion) recorded in the same period last year. While tax receipts remained the bulk of collections, non-tax sources provided an important boost.
As of end-August, non-tax revenues hit ₱298.3 billion ($5.1 billion)—already 97.33% of the revised full-year program of ₱306.5 billion ($5.2 billion). Of this, income from Treasury operations amounted to ₱189.3 billion ($3.2 billion), representing over 63% of total non-tax contributions.
This figure also surpassed the updated target of ₱179.2 billion ($3.05 billion), with gains driven by higher interest earnings on government deposits, dividend remittances, and profit shares from state-run firms.
Online gaming has also emerged as one of the government’s fastest-growing revenue sources in 2025. From January to July, licensed operators generated ₱69 billion ($1.17 billion) in fees, including ₱41 billion ($697 million) from electronic games and ₱28 billion ($476 million) from other online platforms.
In the same period, ₱27.47 billion ($467 million) from gaming operations was channeled into nation-building projects. This included ₱14.72 billion ($250 million) allocated to the Universal Health Care Law, with the rest directed toward classrooms, socio-civic centers, wellness facilities, and e-learning hubs.
“Every peso collected from the gaming sector goes directly to meaningful initiatives—whether it’s building schools, funding health programs, or creating safe spaces for communities,” Tengco emphasized.
