Treasury data: Philippine debt swelled 27% to P10.773 trillion

The outstanding debt of the Philippine government surged by 27% year-on-year in March as the government issued more securities during the period, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.

The national government's total outstanding debt was recorded at P10.773 trillion as of end-March versus P8.477 trillion in the comparable period in 2020.

Broken down, the majority or 72% of the borrowings were from domestic sources equivalent to P7.744 trillion. This is 33.2% higher than the P8.477 trillion recorded the same month last year.

The domestic borrowing includes P540.948 billion in loans and P7.203 trillion in government securities, such as net issuance of P411.79 billion in retail treasury bonds (RTBs).

Meanwhile, external borrowing accounted for 28% of the total debt for the month worth P3.029 trillion. This is 13.7% higher than the P2.664 trillion in March 2020, but 0.4% lower than the P3.042 trillion in February.

"For March, lower figures for external debt were due to the favorable net impact of both local- and third-currency fluctuations against the dollar," the BTr said in an accompanying statement.

Local fluctuations amounted to P6.82 billion as the peso appreciated to P48.544:$1 as of end-March from P48.653:$1 in end-February. Third-currency fluctuations were at P21.88 billion for the month.

"These were more than enough to offset the net availment of foreign loans amounting to P15.15 billion," the BTr said.

Under its mandate, the BTr seeks to assist in the formulation of policies on borrowing, investment, and capital market development and formulate adequate operations guidelines for fiscal and financial policies.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III last month said the debt balance was still within "sustainable levels" as of January when the debt was recorded at P10.327 trillion.

Just last week, Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said the Philippines is projected to post a fiscal deficit of P1.780 trillion this year, as the growth of disbursements will be bigger than that of revenues. — RSJ, GMA News