Gov’t debt swells to P5.46 T

MANILA, Philippines - The outstanding debt of the government slightly rose as of July this year as the government continued to borrow to boost the economy.

Data from the Department of Treasury showed that the outstanding debt  amounted to P5.46 trillion as of July this year, slightly up from the P5.156 trillion recorded a year earlier.

The latest figure was also up 0.2 percent or P9 billion from the end-June level.

A big chunk of the debt or P3.5 trillion came from domestic sources while the remaining P1.96 trillion was sourced from foreign lenders.

Local debt declined 0.1 percent or P2 billion as the government redeemed more local debt papers compared to the volume that was issued.

Debt guaranteed by the government likewise went up 0.3 percent to P492 billion.  Of the total, 70.7 percent or P348.1 billion are external guaranteed obligations while 29.3 percent or P144 billion are domestic guaranteed debts.

The net appreciation of third currencies caused an increase in the peso value of external guaranteed obligations. The net appreciation of third currencies caused an increase in the peso value of external guaranteed debt while domestic guaranteed debt remained unchanged over the previous month’s level.

Aside from loans extended by multilateral lenders and official aid from foreign governments, the Philippines also borrows through the issuance of bonds.