The Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported a rise in the Marcos administration’s borrowings in August, driven primarily by increased reliance on domestic lenders.
In August, the national government secured a total gross financing of P174 billion, reflecting a 40-percent hike from P124.1 billion in the same month last year.
Treasury data indicated that the significant rise in domestic borrowings was the main driver of this surge.
Local government financing jumped by 32 percent from P1.25 trillion in August of last year to P1.65 trillion.
Most of the domestic borrowing was generated from the issuance of Treasury bonds amounting to P1.49 trillion, with the remaining P161.7 billion coming from Treasury bill sales.
In contrast, borrowing from international markets fell by 28 percent to P2.82 billion from P3.91 billion in the same month last year.
According to the BTr’s report, foreign borrowing during this period was secured through project loans and the issuance of global bonds.
The total for August brought the Marcos administration's cumulative borrowing to P1.933 trillion for the first eight months of the year.
This figure represents a 17.5-percent increase from the same period last year, primarily fueled by a 32-percent jump in domestic borrowing, which rose to P1.65 trillion from P1.25 trillion.
Conversely, foreign financing from January to August fell by 28.4 percent, totaling P282.5 billion, down from P394.6 billion.
This year, the Marcos administration aims to secure P2.6 trillion in loans from both domestic and international financial institutions.
According to the latest Treasury report, the outstanding debt of the government reached P15.69 trillion as of July.
This marked an increase of P206.49 billion from June, with 68.54 percent classified as domestic debt and 31.46 percent as external debt.
In detail, domestic debt climbed to P10.75 trillion, up by P180.03 billion from June, primarily due to the net issuance of government securities.
This figure also represents a significant rise of P735.22 billion, or 7.3 percent, since December 2023.
Further, the government’s external debt as of end-July stood at P4.94 trillion, which reflects a P26.45 billion increase from June.
This rise was driven by project loans and currency revaluation, while guaranteed obligations experienced a slight uptick. (Derco Rosal)