Outstanding debt reached a new record of P13.02 trillion as of end-August, up from P12.89 trillion as of end-July on higher domestic borrowings and peso depreciation against the US dollar.
“The P133.64 billion or 1.0-percent increment from the end-July 2022 level was attributed to the net issuances of domestic securities as well as currency adjustments. At the current level, NG debt has increased by P1.29 trillion or 11.0 percent since end-December 2021, of which 68.7 percent was domestic borrowings while 31.3 percent was sourced externally,” the Bureau of the Treasury said Friday.
Domestic debt amounted to P8.94 trillion, up by P111.21 billion or 1.3 percent from end-July level.
“For August, the increase in domestic debt resulted from the net issuance of government securities amounting to P109.43 billion and the P1.78 billion impact of local currency depreciation against the US dollar,” the Treasury said.
It said that since the beginning of the year, domestic debt portfolio increased by P772.98 billion or 9.5 percent on continued reliance on domestic borrowing to lessen the impact of currency fluctuations.
External debt amounted to P4.08 trillion, which was P22.43 billion or 0.6 percent higher than the end-July level.
“For August, the increment in the level of external debt was due to the impact of local currency depreciation against the US dollar amounting to P62.24 billion. This offsets the P26.59-billion effect of third-currency depreciation against the US dollar and net repayment amounting to P13.22 billion,” it said.
External debt also went up by P520.03 billion or 14.6 percent from end-December 2021 due to local- and third-currency fluctuations that increased the peso value of foreign-denominated obligations. Julito G. Rada
Total government guaranteed obligations decreased by P15.24 billion or 3.7 percent month-on-month to P392.76 billion as of end-August.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort earlier said the national debt might still increase to new record highs in the coming months as the government looks for additional sources to finance the budget deficit.