Government borrowings down 72 percent in August

MANILA, Philippines — The national government slashed its gross borrowings by 72.2 percent in August from a year earlier, as the absence of a retail Treasury bond (RTB) sale pulled down domestic borrowings, the Bureau of the Treasury said.

Data from the Treasury showed that total gross borrowings fell to P141.27 billion in August from P508.53 billion in the same period last year.

The sharp decline was largely a timing effect. The government raised P425.61 billion in new money from an RTB offering in August 2025, while no RTB was issued in the same month this year.

However, the government released the notice of offering for its RTB sale last week, seeking to raise at least P30 billion, with the offer period slated to run from Sept. 29 to Oct. 7. The issue date is set for Oct. 12.

Bulk or 90.6 percent of borrowings in August came from local lenders at P127.93 billion, 74.3 percent lower than the P498.21 billion a year ago.

The August domestic borrowings comprised P125.16 billion in fixed-rate Treasury Bonds and P2.77 billion in short-term T-bills.

In terms of external debt, the Treasury secured P13.34 billion, up by 29.3 percent from P10.31 billion in the comparative month in 2025. The entire amount was sourced from project loans.

For the eight-month period, borrowings slipped by 0.5 percent to P2.25 trillion from P2.27 trillion in the January to August 2025 period.

As of end-August, domestic borrowings dropped by 8.9 percent to P1.68 trillion while offshore financing rose by 35.7 percent to P578.2 billion.

The government has completed around 82 percent of the P2.73-trillion borrowing plan it crafted for the year.

Of the P2.73 trillion, P1.92 trillion will come from the domestic market while P815.51 billion will be sourced externally.