Government debt down to P7.869 trillion as of end-June

MANILA, Philippines — The national government’s total debt stock declined to P7.869 trillion as of end-June due to the repayment of matured foreign loans as well as foreign exchange fluctuations, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

According to the latest data from the Treasury, the government’s outstanding debt as of end-June dropped by 0.6 percent, or P48.89 billion, to P7.869 trillion from the P7.916 trillion recorded as of end-May.

The BTr attributed the decline to the net repayment of both domestic and foreign loans and foreign exchange fluctuations.

Since the beginning of the year, the national government’s debt pile has increased by P576.13 billion, or 7.9 percent, compared to the end-2018 level of P7.293 trillion.

BTr data also showed the debt stock was 12.1 percent higher than the P7.016 trillion posted in the same period last year.

The government borrows from both domestic and external lenders to plug the expected deficit in its budget, which is capped at 3.2 percent of the 2019 gross domestic product.

According to the Treasury, the bulk or 67.3 percent of the country’s total debt pile as of June was borrowed domestically, while the remaining 32.7 percent was sourced from external creditors.

Outstanding domestic obligations went up by 0.7 percent to P5.295 trillion from P5.256 trillion in the previous month.

“For June, the increment in domestic debt was caused by net issuance of government securities amounting to P38.94 billion. This was partially offset by the P490 million revaluation of onshore dollar bonds due to peso appreciation over the period,” the BTr said in a statement.

BTr data showed the increase in domestic debt failed to offset the 3.2 percent decline in the external debt stock, which reached P2.574 trillion from P2.659 trillion in the previous month.