Government debt hits new high of P17.65 trillion
Ramped-up domestic and foreign borrowings sent the national government’s outstanding debt to a new all-time high level in November, exceeding the full-year target anew despite small offsets from currency movements.
Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Wednesday showed that the government’s debt stock had reached P17.65 trillion in November, up 0.49 percent from October’s P17.56 trillion.
This, once again, overshot the Marcos administration’s P17.36 trillion full-year program for 2025, or by 1.7 percent.
“The month-on-month increase was underpinned by the net issuance of domestic and external debt, which was partly offset by changes in the valuation of foreign currency-denominated obligations,” the Treasury said.
Despite minor fluctuations, the peso remained largely weak in November.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), noted that the weak peso “effectively increased the peso equivalent of the national government’s external debts when converted from foreign currencies.”
Domestic debt accounted for nearly 69 percent of the total, rising to P12.12 trillion from October’s P12.05 trillion.
The increase was largely driven by P71.85 billion in net issuance of government securities, even after a small P120-million reduction in peso valuation of retail dollar bonds.
“Borrowing predominantly from domestic creditors and in local currency has been one of the main strategies pursued by the government to keep its debt sustainable,” the bureau said.
“This is because peso obligations do not fluctuate with foreign exchange rates and the payment of interest redounds to the benefit of Filipino investors, further boosting domestic income.”
External debt also edged higher, reaching P5.53 trillion.
