MANILA, Philippines — The national government’s debt now stands at P15.89 trillion as of the end of September 2024, the Bureau of Treasury (BoT) said on Wednesday, October 30.
This is a 2.2% increase from August 2024’s debt, which was at P15.55 trillion. In September 2023, the national government’s debt was at P14.27 trillion.
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September 2024’s debt increase was driven by hiked domestic and foreign borrowings.
However, the BoT reassured the public that the latest debt number was still “manageable”.
Most of the debt is sourced domestically at 68.81%, while the rest was external.
Domestic debt is P10.93 trillion as of September 2024, according to BoT. This is a 1.3% increase from the domestic debt in August 2023, which was at P10.79 trillion.
“This was mainly driven by P145.11 billion net issuance of new government securities, which was slightly offset by a P460 million decrease in the value of US dollar-denominated securities due to the appreciation of the Philippine peso,” the BoT said.
Meanwhile, external liabilities are at P4.95 trillion in September 2024, which is a 4.2% increase from August 2024’s P4.75 trillion. The rise was due to net borrowings amounting to P200.89 billion.
The BoT said the national government bought P140.99 billion floatation bonds for general budgetary requirements.
The national government's guaranteed obligations reached P372.86 billion in September 2024, marking a 2.4% increase from P364.03 billion at the end of August.
“Overall, the Philippine government’s prudent debt management, supported by heavy bias on local funding, contributes to the country’s strong fiscal position and continued resilience amidst global uncertainties,” the BoT said.