Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said Wednesday the government’s budget deficit target for this year remains at P177.2 billion, downplaying reports suggesting a wider revenue-spending gap.

Earlier, Economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto projected the budget deficit would balloon to P257 billion this year if the government fails in its new privatization efforts and customs collections shrink because of weaker trade.

Teves said the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordinating Committee – of which he and Recto are members – hasn’t changed the recently revised budget targets even as the interagency committee continues to monitor economic developments. “The DBCC is keeping its budget deficit ceiling at P177.2 billion for now as we continue to monitor how the domestic economy will affect our revenue collection efforts,” Teves said in a statement.