PHILIPPINES SEES 1987 GOVERNMENT REVENUE UP 26 PCT
Philippine government revenue is
expected to rise 26 pct to 99.9 billion pesos this year from
79.1 billion in 1986, Finance Secretary Jaime Ongpin said.
    In a report to President Corazon Aquino on his department's
performance during the year ended February 28, Ongpin said at
least 15.9 billion pesos were expected to accrue from new tax
reform measures announced last year.
    He said the goal for official development assistance (ODA)
this year is two billion dlrs, adding that aid donors have
committed ODA inflows of 1.7 billion dlrs in 1987, up 30 pct
from 1.3 billion in 1986.
    Ongpin said steps planned to provide a sound revenue base
included a value added tax (VAT) system due to be introduced in
1988. He gave no other details.
    He said treasury bill maturities, interest rate levels and
the volume of government securities sold to the private sector
have improved significantly. "In particular, short-term prime
interest rates which had gone over 40 pct in 1985, are now down
to less than 10 pct," he said.
    Ongpin said the government's debt-equity scheme, introduced
in August last year, had attracted more than 276 mln dlrs worth
of applications, but selective evaluation had resulted in
approvals of only 61.8 mln dlrs at end-February.
    He said his department aims to accelerate its privatisation
program and the sale of non-performing assets owned by
associates of former President Ferdinand Marcos to achieve a
1987 sales target of four billion pesos which would help
finance land reform.
    Aquino said earlier this month that all the 24 billion
pesos the government hopes to raise from the sale of the failed
companies will be used to finance the land reform plan.
    Ongpin also said the government would pursue efforts to
obtain 500 mln dlrs in concessional funding for the program
from a World Bank-led consultative group of multilateral and
bilateral aid donors.
    The government has said the land reform plan aims to
distribute 9.7 mln hectares of land to poor peasants.
 REUTER
