By TED CORDERO, GMA News Published April 27, 2021 4:07pm The national government’s fiscal balance saw a wider deficit in the first quarter of 2021 on the back of higher state expenditures against a drop in revenue collections as the country grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. Data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed that the national government incurred a budget deficit of P321.5 billion in January to March, 273.11% wider than the P86.2-billion shortfall in the same period in 2020. For March alone, the fiscal gap stood at P191.4 billion, up 167.34% from P71.6 billion in the same month last year.