The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) borrowed ₱25 billion through short-dated T-bills on Monday, April 21, with a mixed auction in which shorter tenors commanded higher rates from local creditors.
The BTr awarded to government securities eligible dealers (GSEDs) ₱8 billion each in the benchmark 91- and 182-day debt papers, plus ₱9 billion in 364-day IOUs.
In a statement, the BTr said three-month treasury bills fetched an average bid rate of 5.546 percent, up 12.4 basis points (bps) from 5.422 percent at last week's auction.
Six-month T-bills saw the average yield inch up by 1.8 bps to 5.675 percent from 5.657 percent last week.
As for one-year debt paper, the annual rate went down by 3.1 bps to 5.691 percent from last week's 5.722 percent.
The BTr borrowed as programmed, as GSEDs tendered a total of ₱73.9 billion to snap up the IOUs offered, making the auction three times oversubscribed.
The government borrows more locally—through treasury bills and bonds—than from foreign sources, taking advantage of the domestic financial system that's awash in cash, while mitigating foreign exchange (forex) risks.
In turn, government securities are regarded as a safe haven by creditors and investors, as they are issued by sovereigns.
For 2025, the government has programmed a gross borrowing of ₱2.04 trillion through T-bills and fixed-rate treasury bonds.