National government debt reaches P14.35 trillion as of end-Aug. 2023

The Bureau of the Treasury on Monday said the national government's outstanding debt went up to P14.35 trillion as of end-August 2023. 

It said the P105.28 billion or 0.7% increment from the previous month’s level was primarily due to the peso depreciating from 54.834 to 56.651 against the US dollar over the reference period.

To recall, the national government’s running debt stock stood at P14.24 trillion as of end-July as the government ramped up its fund raising efforts in the domestic market to support budgetary requirements.

The Treasury said that of the total debt stock, 31.8% are from external sources while 68.2% are from domestic borrowings.

It further said that domestic debt, as of end-August 2023, settled at P9.79 trillion, lower by 0.2% or P21.24 billion than the previous month due to large retail bond maturities.

Meanwhile, the new domestic debt issued during the month totaled P229.29 billion with debt redemption of P253.43 billion, resulting in a net repayment of P24.14 billion.

The Treasury also said that the external debt of P4.56 trillion was P126.52 billion or 2.9% higher month-over-month (MoM), mainly because of the weaker peso.

The peso depreciation against the US dollar caused a P146.85-billion upward revaluation of US dollar-denominated debt in August, although it was partially offset by the P22.11-billion downward revaluation of the third currency debt component. —Anna Felicia Bajo/KG/KBK, GMA Integrated News