The national government’s outstanding debt is projected to reach P14.6 trillion by the end of 2023, data from the Department of Budget and Management showed.
According to the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) for fiscal year 2023, the estimated outstanding debt by end-2023 will be 8.96 percent higher than projected figure of P13.43 trillion by the end of this year.
Of the said amount for end-2023, domestic debt is seen to reach P9.96 trillion, with external debt accounting for the remaining P4.47 trillion.
As of end-June 2022, the national government debt stood at P12.79 trillion, equivalent to 62.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Under the Marcos administration’s Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, the government aims to bring down the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio to less than 60 percent by 2025.
Last week, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno assured senators that the national debt remains within manageable levels, allaying fears of the country defaulting on loans amid a slightly elevated debt-to-GDP ratio.
Diokno’s statement was in response to Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, Senate Committee on Ways and Means chairperson, who sought reassurance that the country will not be like Sri Lanka that recently defaulted on its debt and declared itself bankrupt.
“I can assure you, your Honor, that we won’t go the Sri Lanka way. We’re very careful with our borrowings. In fact, as (Treasurer Rosalia De Leon) said, I think most of our debt is long term. (Former Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez) has been very good in making sure that we borrow at the lowest possible interest rate and it’s spread out,” Diokno said Tuesday last week in an organizational briefing before the Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
“The implication is clear: we do not have to borrow as much as we did during the crisis years,” he added.
Meanwhile, the BESF also showed that the government’s projected gross borrowings next year is P2.207 trillion, 0.22 percent lower than this year’s program of P2.212 trillion.
Of the said amount for 2023, P1.654 trillion is accounted for by gross local financing, while P553.5 billion is sourced externally.
