Philippine debt climbs to P14.79 trillion as of end-January

The Philippine government continued to accumulate more debt in January to bring the total outstanding balance to P14.790 trillion at the end of the month, factoring in the issuance of securities and the depreciation of the peso.

Data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) show the latest debt balance reflects a P173.91-billion or 1.19% increase from the P14.616 trillion at the close of 2023. This is also P1.091 trillion or 7.97% higher than the P13.698 trillion in January 2023.

Broken down, domestic debt stood at P10.162 trillion. Issuances for the month stood at P211.11 billion, while principal payments stood at P69.67 billion, resulting in a net issuance of P141.44 billion.

The BTr also reported a P2.81-billion addition to the foreign currency-denominated domestic debt due to the depreciation of the Philippine peso which closed January 31 at P56.275:$1 versus P55.37:$1 on December 29, 2023, the last trading day of the previous year.

In terms of external debt, the BTr reported an increase of P29.66 billion or 0.65% to P4.63 trillion, as the peso depreciation contributed P81.73 billion.

This was, however, partly offset by movements in third currencies which accounted for P28.52 billion, bringing the net increase to P52.07 billion.

External loan availments for the month were P61.86 billion, including P5.36 billion in project loan disbursements, and P56.50 billion or $1 billion from program loans — $400 million from the Asian Development Bank, and $600 million from the World Bank.

Repayment of external loans totaled P85.41 billion, reflecting a net repayment of P23.55 billion.

Government-guaranteed obligations stood at P348.66 billion as of end-January, marking a P0.78-billion or 0.22% decrease from the previous month. Net repayment of domestic guarantees amounted to P1.12 billion, and external guarantees at P0.24 billion.

Meanwhile, third currency appreciation against the US dollar fell to P2.40 billion, offsetting the P2.98-billion revaluation effect of the peso depreciation on dollar-denominated guarantees.

“For the coming months, the national government's outstanding debts could still post new record highs in view of national government’s upcoming borrowings,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said in a separate commentary.

Among the expected issuances is the $5-billion global bonds in the first quarter, on top of the peso-denominated government securities.

Data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) show that the borrowing program for 2024 was pegged at P2.46 trillion, higher than the P2.207 trillion in the past year. — DVM, GMA Integrated News