Government borrows P521 billion in 10 months

MANILA, Philippines - The government’s borrowing spree continued in the 10 months to October on the back of a widening budget deficit and weak revenues.

Total government borrowings rose to P521.159 billion from January to October this year, up by 23 percent from the P423.610 billion recorded in the same period last year, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.

Of the total borrowings, gross foreign borrowings surged by 333 percent to P229.588 billion during the 10-month period from only P53.036 billion a year ago.

The increase in foreign borrowings is due mainly to the issuance of dollar-denominated bonds in October, its third for the year, amounting to $1 billion or P47.084 billion. In January, the government also issued $1.5 billion in dollar-denominated bonds and $750 million in July.

In terms of program loans, the government recorded a total of P57.124 billion during the 10-month period including the Development Policy Support extended by ADB in October amounting to P11.688 billion.

Gross domestic borrowings, on the other hand, declined to P291.571 billion from the year ago figure of P370.574 billion as government settled debt papers it issued in the past.

From January to October, the government settled a total of P603.550 billion worth of Treasury bills (T-bills). It issued P471.027 billion in fresh Treasury bills or T-bills, resulting in a net issuance of P132.523 billion during the period.

The government also issued three, five, seven, 10 and 20-year T-bonds amounting to P301.749 billion during the 10-month period.

The government has increased its borrowings because of the need to spend more as revenues remain weak.

The budget deficit has ballooned to P266.1 billion in the 10 months to October, already breaching its full-year budget gap ceiling of P250 billion because of weak revenues and the need to spend more.

The P266.1 billion is 326.9 percent more than the P62.3 billion posted in the same period last year.