The Philippine government’s debt surpassed the P17.5-trillion mark for the first time in July 2025 as it climbed 11.9 percent year-on-year, according to data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Wednesday.
The total debt reached P17.56 trillion, an increase of P1.87 trillion from P15.69 trillion recorded in July 2024. It also grew by 1.7 percent from P17.27 trillion in June 2025.
The BTr said the total could decrease toward the end of the year as the government pays off P814.2 billion in domestic bonds by December.
The national government’s borrowings are used to fund key infrastructure and development initiatives in sectors like education, healthcare and agriculture.
It said to mitigate exposure to foreign exchange risk, the government continued to prioritize domestic borrowing, with a financing blend of 76 percent domestic and 24 percent external debt for the first seven months of the year.
This improved the domestic component of the total debt to 68.9 percent at the end of July from 68.1 percent at the end of 2024, it said.
It said the Marcos Jr. administration remains committed to prudent debt management and is leveraging strong investor confidence in peso-denominated securities while ensuring borrowings are at the lowest possible cost.
The government will continue to adhere to its Medium-Term Fiscal Program to ensure fiscal prudence and long-term debt sustainability, the BTr said in a statement.
