MANILA, Philippines — Former Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves said that a balanced budget is not necessary as the Aquino administration needs enough room to provide basic services by overspending.

Teves, who is also Think Tank Inc.chairman, explained that a zero budget gap scenario is no longer necessary as long as the government maintains a manageable fiscal deficit on the back of prudent borrowing.

Teves, whose term as finance chief ended in June last year, had planned to balance the budget by 2016, but the proposal was thumbed down by President Aquino’s economic team when it took over in the middle of 2010.

The former finance chief now said that the government needs to over spend to further improve the country’s education system and increase investments in ‘good projects.’

Teves also said that deficit spending will boost the country’s economic growth that would result to jobs generation, higher consumer income and more revenues for the government.

Along with the overspending, Teves pointed that the Aquino administration has to maintain transparency and accountability.

Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima earlier said that the government would rather focus on keeping the deficit at a manageable level, specifically to 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

“Balancing the budget for its own sake is not something that we want to pursue,” Purisima said.

He said the government would keep spending beyond government revenues.

The previous administration came close to achieving a balanced budget in 2008 with a deficit of P68 billion or 0.9 percent of GDP.

However, the goal had to be deferred with the onset of the financial global crisis, which saw the deficit balloon to P298.5 billion or 3.9 percent of GDP on account of expenses to stimulate continued economic growth.