The Duterte administration has already secured $18.4 billion worth of foreign loans, equivalent to about P886.1 billion, to support the country’s coronavirus response, the Department of Finance (DOF) said.

Of that total amount, Finance Undersecretary Mark Dennis Y.C. Joven said on Friday, April 30, that about $1.2 billion were secured from multilateral lenders for the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines.

Joven, however, said that only around $100 million out of the total loans for vaccines procurement were obligated so far given the limited global supply of vaccines.

“Obligated means there are contracts already signed to procure vaccines,” Joven explained during the Laging Handa press briefing.

Earlier, DOF secured $500 million from the World Bank, $400 million from the Asian Development Bank, and $300 million from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to fund the country’s procurement of vaccines.

The DOF official, meanwhile, said the remaining balance of $18.4 billion foreign loans will be used for budget support for all regular government programs under the 2021 general appropriations act.

The budget support loan includes the $6.93 billion from multilateral sources such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Joven said.

“While $1.32 billion has been secured through bilateral sources. Some specific countries such as Japan, Korea, and France," he said.

The Philippines also tapped commercial sources, Joven said, amounting to $8 billion.

In 2020, The national government’s debt ratio shot up following its record budget deficit incurred last year due to unprecedented borrowings for the country’s coronavirus response.

The ratio of the national government outstanding debt to the country’s economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), stood at 54.5 percent in 2020.

The 2020 debt-to-GDP ratio accelerated from only 39.6 percent in the previous year.

The government’s budget deficit settled at P1.371 trillion last year, lower by 24 percent against the

P1.815 trillion program, but more than double compared with P660.2 billion in the previous year. Compared with its Southeast Asian peers, the Philippines registered a slightly higher debt ratio against the regional average of 51.5 percent. Indonesia at 38.5 percent, Vietnam at 46.6 percent, Thailand at 50.4 percent and Malaysia at 67.6 percent.