While the Marcos government plans to make bulk borrowings via sales of jumbo government debt papers a regular practice, next year’s total borrowings could only increase by around ₱100 billion. 

According to National Treasurer Sharon Almanza, this marginal increase comes alongside an 80:20 borrowing mix, which is yet to be achieved by the government, Almanza told reporters on the sidelines of a GBonds launch on Tuesday, Aug. 5. 

GBonds are retail treasury bonds (RTBs) accessible, for the first time, through e-wallet GCash. Previously, bonds could only be availed by banked investors. 

For 2025, the government is targeting to borrow ₱2.55 trillion. This means next year’s total borrowing could stand at around ₱2.7 trillion.

“We will aim for 80-20. Because we want to continue to minimize our foreign currency exposure,” Almanza told reporters. An 80-20 borrowing mix means 80 percent of the government’s total borrowings will be sourced from domestic lenders, while the remaining 20 percent will be sourced from offshore lenders. 

“We’re hoping [a jumbo issuance] to be a regular part of ours. Because it's a way for us to establish a new benchmark,” Almanza said. 

She emphasized that among the government’s strategies is to mitigate the country’s foreign currency risk. “One way to achieve that is to take advantage of domestic liquidity,” or the supply of money in the economy. 

Last quarter, the Marcos administration borrowed ₱300 billion through its sale of 10-year treasury bonds (T-bonds).

Despite the external factors threatening to hurt the local economy, the sale of the fixed-rate treasury notes (FXTN) was successful. This, according to the BTr, showed that government debt instruments were still seen as “stable investment options.”

During the first six months of last year, the government had issued ₱584 billion worth of RTBs, which, notably, was not issued in the first half this year until the launch of GBonds. 

Domestic investors locked in “sweet spot” medium-term bonds amid persistent external uncertainties, allowing the government to raise an initial ₱210 billion from RTBs on Tuesday, Aug. 5, as the offer period opened for local investors.

Bids reached ₱354.2 billion, nearly twice the amount offered.

Data from the BTr showed that the government’s gross borrowings in the first half of 2025 reached ₱1.59 trillion, 1.3 percent higher than the ₱1.57 trillion in the same period last year. 

Gross domestic borrowings, which accounted for 74.8 percent of total borrowings during the period, stood at ₱1.19 trillion, down 8.5 percent from ₱1.30 trillion last year.

As of end-June, gross borrowings accounted for 62.5 percent of the government’s total planned borrowings of ₱2.55 trillion for the year.