The national government debt climbed to P15.48 trillion as end-June 2024, a 0.9-percent increase from the previous month on new borrowings and the peso’s depreciation against the US dollar, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) show.
“This was partially offset by the impact of third- currency depreciation on the valuation of corresponding debt denominated in those currencies,” the BTr said.
It also jumped by P1.33 trillion, or 9.4 percent, from P14.15 trillion in June 2023.
The BTr said of the total debt stock, 31.71 percent was external debt, while 68.29 percent represented domestic borrowings.
Domestic debt reached P10.57 trillion as of end-June, or 1.2 percent higher than the end-May 2024 level. It climbed by P870 billion, or 9.0 percent, from P9.7 trillion a year ago.
The increase in domestic debt was led by the P129.89 billion net issuance of government securities and the P0.39 billion effect of peso depreciation on foreign-currency-denominated domestic debt, according to the Treasury.
Meanwhile, foreign debt amounted to P4.91 trillion as of end-June, up by 0.1 percent from the end-May 2024 level. It was P465 billion, or 10.5 percent, higher than the June 2023 level of P4.44 trillion.
The month-on-month increment was traced to the P7.95 billion in net availment and the P11.23-billion upward revaluation of US dollar-denominated debt due to peso depreciation. This was partially offset by the P13.56 billion effect of favorable third-currency adjustments.
Data show that since the beginning of the year, external debt has increased 6.8 percent from its end-December 2023 level.
Government guaranteed obligations fell 1.9 percent to P343.65 billion as of end-June 2024 from the previous month. The decline was driven by the net repayment of both domestic and external guarantees amounting to P5.02 billion and P0.73 billion, respectively.
The impact of third-currency adjustments against the US dollar amounting to P1.18 billion offset the P0.37 billion increase caused by peso depreciation.
The BTr noted that since end-December 2023, NG guaranteed obligations have decreased by 1.7 percent.
