By  Madelaine B. Miraflor The government recorded a wider budget gap in the first four months of the year as public spending continues to outpace revenue performance. In a data provided by National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon, which was sent to reporters by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, the budget gap from January to April expanded to P115.9 billion, P51.2 billion below program but P85.7 billion more than the same period last year. From January to April, total revenues were 7 percent or P21.4 billion higher than the target, with Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) exceeding collections target P19.4 billion and P2 billion respectively. Year-on-year, revenues grew by 21 percent. Disbursements, on the other hand, went up by 31 percent to P1.04 trillion, P244.8 billion higher than last year. The government had set a budget deficit ceiling of P523.6 billion this year, or up to 3 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In 2017, the national government (NG) registered a below-ceiling budget deficit on the back of higher non-tax revenue collections. Data from the treasury bureau showed the government posted a P350.6-billion fiscal deficit in 2017, lower than the P482.1-billion program for the year. Likewise, the end-December budget gap was lower by one percent against the P353.4-billion actual deficit in the previous year. As a percentage of the economy, the government’s budget deficit last year was also smaller, equivalent only to 2.2 percent of the country’s GDP.