The national government substantially reduced its reliance on borrowing in November, cutting its total by nearly half compared to the same period last year, due to lower domestic borrowing.
Based on the latest Bureau of the Treasury report, total gross borrowings in November 2024 plunged 48 percent to P65.05 billion from P125.46 billion in the same month last year.
The decline also represents a 49.7 percent decrease from the P129.26 billion borrowed in October this year.
Domestic borrowings were the main driver of this decline, plummeting 59 percent to P48.9 billion in November compared to P121.02 billion in the same month last year.
Based on the Treasury report, this can be partly attributed to the government's successful P100-billion retail treasury bond issuance in November, which likely fulfilled a significant portion of its financing needs.
The domestic borrowings for November this year comprised P30 billion in fixed-rate Treasury bonds (T-bonds) and P18.88 billion in Treasury bills (T-bills).
In contrast, gross external debt increased by 267 percent to P16.16 billion in November from P4.4 billion a year ago. This was comprised of P7.47 billion in program loans and P8.7 billion in project loans.
Despite the November slowdown, cumulative gross borrowings for the first 11 months of 2024 still showed an 18 percent increase to P2.494 trillion compared to P2.101 trillion in the same period of 2022.
Of this total, domestic sources accounted for the majority (76.66 percent), amounting to P1.912 trillion, a 16.5 percent rise from the previous year. External debt also rose by 26 percent to P582.4 billion.
As of the end of November, the government has utilized 97 percent of its planned P2.57 trillion borrowing for 2024, with P1.92 trillion sourced domestically and P646.08 billion from international lenders.
In November, the Marcos administration’s budget deficit more than doubled due to a contraction in government revenues and a substantial increase in public spending.
The government’s budget deficit surged to P213 billion during the month from P93.3 billion in the same period last year.
The Treasury said the widening fiscal gap was triggered by a 0.61 percent contraction in government revenues, which fell to P338.3 billion from P340.4 billion in November 2023. This decline was primarily attributed to lower non-tax collections compared to the previous year, which included a one-time dividend remittance from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Additionally, a 27 percent rise in government expenditures to P551.3 billion, driven by increased spending on infrastructure, social programs, and personnel services, contributed to the widening deficit.
Despite the November dip, the Treasury said the national government remained on track to surpass its revenue goal for 2024.
Year-to-date collections reached P4.1 trillion by the end of November, representing 96.12 percent of the full-year target of P4.3 trillion and a 15.2 percent increase year-on-year.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) reported a 17.77 percent year-on-year increase in collections for November, driven by higher income tax, value-added tax (VAT), excise taxes, and documentary stamp tax (DST) revenues.
The BIR attributed the strong performance to increased taxpayer compliance, adjustments in filing schedules, and favorable economic conditions.