The national government’s (NG) total outstanding debt as of end-September stood at P13.52 trillion, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said yesterday.
According to the BTr’s statement, this represented a 13.4 percent increase from the P11.92 trillion recorded a year ago.
For the month, the BTr said the national government’s total debt increased by P495.54 billion or 3.8 percent primarily due to the depreciation of the peso against the US dollar and the net issuance of government securities to support the budget.
Of the total debt stock, 31.2 percent were sourced externally while 68.8 percent were domestic borrowings.
Specifically, the national government’s domestic debt amounted to P9.3 trillion, which is 10.9 percent up year-on-year and four percent higher compared to the end-August 2022 level.
“For September, the increase in domestic debt resulted from the net issuance of government securities amounting to P352.09 billion and the P5.18 billion impact of local currency depreciation against the US dollar,” the BTr said.
“Since the beginning of the year, the domestic debt portfolio has increased by P1.13 trillion or 13.8 percent due to continued preference for domestic financing to mitigate the effects of currency fluctuations,” it added.
Meanwhile, the national government’s external debt amounted to P4.22 trillion, which is 19.5 percent up from the previous year, and 3.4 percent higher than the end-August 2022 level.
“The increment in the level of external debt was due to the P179.69 billion impact of local currency depreciation against the US dollar. This was partially offset by the P30.62 billion effect of third-currency depreciation against the US dollar and net repayment amounting to P10.8 billion,” the BTr said.
“Year-to-date, national government external debt increased by P658.3 billion or 18.5 percent primarily due to local- and third-currency fluctuations that increase the peso value of foreign denominated obligations,” it added.
