Asset sale to help temper budget deficit

To subsidize electricity and food for families worst hit by the present crisis in the Philippines, the national government intends to sell its shares in oil refiner and marketer Petron Corp. and other assets and keep its budget deficit below a target limit of Php75 billion (US$1.69 billion), Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said. He told reporters, after his confirmation as finance secretary by the Commission on Appointments, that the government was also considering a fuel subsidy for public transport. Teves stressed that the sale of more assets would take second priority to improving tax collection by enhancing the efficiency of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs. The extra spending will be on social services, including electricity subsidies to “lifeline” users, and food, health and education allowances to the poorest families. (June 12, 2008)