Government borrowings jump 43 percent to P189 billion in July

MANILA, Philippines — The government jacked up its borrowings by a little over 40 percent to P189 billion in July, largely coming from the domestic market.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that total borrowings in July reached P188.65 billion, 43 percent above the P131.94 billion in July 2023.

During the month, borrowings from local lenders soared by 63 percent to P180.59 billion from P110.5 billion secured in the same period last year.

The huge chunk or 86 percent of the domestic borrowings at P155 billion was from fixed-rate Treasury bonds.

The government also borrowed P25.59 billion from short-term T-bills.

During the same month last year, the government borrowed lesser T-bonds at P108.38 billion and fewer T-bills at P2.12 billion amid higher interest rates.

In terms of external debt, the Treasury slashed its borrowings by 62 percent to just P8.06 billion from P21.44 billion from foreign sources during the month of July last year.

The entire external financing was made up of project loans.

For the seven-month period, borrowings increased by 15 percent to P1.76 trillion from the P1.52 trillion sourced in January to July 2023.

As of end-July, domestic borrowings picked up by 31 percent to P1.48 trillion while offshore financing slipped by almost 30 percent to P275.48 billion.

This means that the government already used up 68 percent of the borrowing plan it crafted for the year at P2.57 trillion.

Next year, the Philippines will slightly decrease its borrowing program by a percentage to P2.55 trillion, still in favor of domestic creditors.

Sourcing from the domestic market is part of the administration’s prudent debt management strategy and its initiatives to further develop the domestic capital markets.