The Philippines’ outstanding external debt rose 1.5 percent in the second quarter of 2025 to $148.87 billion from the previous quarter, largely due to the weakening of the US dollar, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said.
It said the depreciation of the dollar increased the dollar-equivalent of borrowings denominated in other currencies by $1.49 billion
The net acquisition of Philippine debt securities worth $660.96 million also contributed to the rise, while net repayments of $315.67 million partially tempered the increase.
Data from the BSP showed that on a year-on-year basis, external debt increased by 14.4 percent, led by borrowings, which included bond issuances by the national government amounting to $5.83 billion and external financing tapped by local banks amounting to $3.44 billion.
The external debt stock was equivalent to 31.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), an improvement from 31.5 percent in the first quarter.
The BSP said the external debt stock remained “sustainable.” As of end-June, the country’s short-term external debt stood at $28.63 billion. This was well-covered by the country’s gross international reserves (GIR) of $106 billion, providing 3.7 times cover for short-term obligations.
The debt service ratio, another indicator of the capacity to service debt, improved to 8.7 percent from 9.8 percent a year earlier. This resulted from lower principal and interest payments by resident borrowers as of the second quarter.
