MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines budget deficit soared 17% above the official target last year as spending rose to offset the impacts of the global financial crisis, an official said Monday.

The deficit hit P293.2 billion ($6.35 billion) in 2009, equivalent to 3.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP), a finance department official, who declined to be named, told AFP.

This exceeded the government's initial target of a P250-billion deficit, equivalent to 3.2% of GDP.

Explaining the deficit, the official cited data showing revenue collection had gone down this year as expenditures soared due to government stimulus efforts to cope with the global financial crisis.

International financial institutions have been concerned about the country's budget deficit, fearing a return to the situation last decade when the deficit went as high as 5.3% of GDP in 2002.

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said last week the deficit would go down to only 3.5% of GDP this year, but he did not give exact figures.

He also said poor revenues had forced the government to postpone its goal of attaining a balanced budget from 2010 to 2013.

Teves blamed the global financial crisis, a fall in exports and investments, and the effects of killer typhoons in 2009 for the fall in revenues and the rise in the deficit.

However he expressed confidence that the country had begun a modest recovery this year with economic growth expected to hit three to four percent, compared with 0.8% growth estimated for 2009.