National government debt bloats to P7.16-trillion in September

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government’s outstanding debt ballooned as of end-September, the Bureau of the Treasury reported on Friday.

The government’s debt as of September stood at P7.16 trillion, 0.80 percent or P55.92 billion higher than the previous month’s level.

Year-on-year, the state’s liabilities rose 11.1 percent last month.

Broken down, 35.92 percent of the total debt stock was sourced externally while 64.08 percent was borrowed domestically, settling within the government’s 35-65 target borrowing mix.

As of end-September, domestic debt spiked 0.3 percent or P14.85 billion to P4.59 trillion month-on-month on the back of an additional P14.54 billion raised from the issuance of government securities. A weak currency has also increased the value of onshore dollar bonds by P0.31 billion, the BTr added.

Year-to-date, domestic debt bloated 3.3 percent or P146.51 billion.

Meanwhile, funds raised from external creditors jumped 1.6 percent or P41.07 billion to P2.57 trillion due to net availments of foreign loans amounting to P22.52 billion and the P29.68 billion impact of the peso’s depreciation against the US dollar.

“This was slightly offset by the net depreciation of third-currency denominated debt amounting to P11.13 billion,” the BTr added.

The government borrows from local and foreign sources to fund its budget deficit, which for this year is capped at 3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral