Government raises P167.3 billion from retail bond sale

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government raised P167.25 billion from its latest Retail Treasury Bond (RTB) offering, which is expected to help finance its various projects.

Of the total amount, P84.86 billion was raised during the rate-setting auction and P82.39 billion during the offer period from Sept. 29 to Oct. 7.

This exceeded the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr)’s initial P30-billion target and the P150-billion projection mentioned at the launch.

Meanwhile, the total amount raised from the bond switch component will be announced at a later date, the Treasury said.

“Proceeds from the RTB-32 issuance will support the government’s budgetary requirements for various projects and programs such as education, health, infrastructure, agriculture, among others,” the BTr said.

The 2.5-year bonds, due in 2029 with a coupon rate of 6.875 percent, will be issued and settled on Oct. 12.

RTBs are government debt securities designed to give individual investors an accessible way to lend money to the government while earning a fixed return. The RTB-32 was made available for as low as P5,000 through traditional and online channels.

Investors were also able to invest through web-based channels via the BTr Online Ordering Facility through China Banking Corp., state-run Land Bank of the Philippines and First Metro Securities.

The bonds were also sold via application-based channels such as the Landbank mobile banking app, Overseas Filipino Bank mobile banking app, GCash via GBonds, PDAX, ATRAM Prime and ATRAM PERA mobile apps and RCBC Pulz.

To promote the offering, the Treasury and RTB-32 joint issue managers conducted regional roadshows in Baguio, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Naga and Pampanga.

It also set up information booths in several areas in the National Capital Region and conducted financial literacy sessions for overseas Filipino communities, local retail investors and institutions.

Government-owned Development Bank of the Philippines and Landbank acted as joint lead issue managers, while BDO Capital & Investment Corp., BPI Capital Corp., China Bank Capital Corp., First Metro Investment Corp., PNB Capital and Investment Corp., Union Bank of the Philippines and Security Bank Capital Investment Corp. served as joint issue managers.

The RTB offering is part of the government’s plan to borrow P892 billion from domestic sources in the last three months of 2026.

The Marcos government plans to borrow P2.73 trillion this year, of which P1.92 trillion will come from the domestic market.