The Bureau of the Treasury raised its domestic borrowing program for May despite the rising interest rate environment. Based on the Treasury advisory on Wednesday, April 26, the May financing plan of the Marcos administration is set at P175 billion, lower by nine percent than this month’s program of P160 billion. The bureau indicated that it will sell P75 billion worth of Treasury bills (T-bills) and P100 billion in Treasury bonds (T-bonds) next month. The Treasury will still hold a weekly auction for T-bills and T-bonds, offering P15 billion worth of each 91-, 182-day and 364-day long-term IOUs every Monday and issue them on May 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31. Moreover, the bureau will issue P25 billion worth of six-, nine-, 13-, and seven-year T-bonds on April 4, 11, 18, and 25, respectively. Earlier, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the government will continue borrowing mostly from the domestic debt markets under the Marcos administration. In 2022, the national government borrowed at a much lower amount than initially estimated last year on the back of robust revenue haul of the tax agencies. Total borrowings amounted to P2.163 trillion from January to December 2022, below the P2.212 trillion program for the year. At the same time, the government also reduced its borrowing by 16 percent against P2.579 trillion in full-year 2021. In 2023, the Marcos administration is planning to borrow P2.207 trillion from offshore and local banks to help bridge the government’s projected budget deficit amounting to P1.1453 trillion. As of February 2023, the national government’s outstanding debt stock stood at P13.752 trillion  trillion, up by 14 percent from P12.093 trillion a year ago. Month-on-month, it also inched up by 0.4 percent from P13.698 trillion last January. Of the total debt stock, 68.7 percent were domestic borrowings, while 31.3 percent was sourced externally.