The national government’s total outstanding debt reached P15.89 trillion as of end-September 2024, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.
In a statement yesterday, the BTr said the total outstanding debt rose by 2.2 percent compared to the end-August 2024 level due to the net availment of new external and domestic debt.
“Nevertheless, the national government’s strategic focus on local fund raising allows the government to limit external risk exposure to only 31.19 percent of its debt portfolio, while enabling the development of the local bond market and providing Filipinos with quality investment vehicles to grow their savings,” the BTr said.
Majority or 68.81 percent of the portfolio is sourced from the country’s domestic market.
Year-on-year, the outstanding debt rose by 11.4 percent.
Domestic debt reached P10.94 trillion as of end-September 2024, posting a 1.3 percent increase from the previous month. The BTr said this was mainly driven by the P145.11 billion net issuance of new government securities, which was slightly offset by a P460 million decrease in the value of US dollar-denominated securities due to the appreciation of the Philippine peso.
On the other hand, the national government’s external liabilities reached P4.96 trillion in end-September 2024.
This grew slightly by 4.2 percent compared to the previous month due to P200.89 billion in net foreign borrowings, including P140.99 billion in new US dollar bonds floatation to support general budgetary requirements.
Nevertheless, the BTr said favorable foreign exchange adjustments contributed a substantial decrease of P2.43 billion in the overall external debt.
