Marking the lowest amount in 2025, the national government’s planned borrowings for the final three months of the year stand at ₱437 billion, a reduction of ₱253 billion from ₱690 billion in the third quarter.

Signed by National Treasurer Sharon Almanza, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) published on Thursday, Sept. 25, showed a 36.7-percent decrease in the government’s borrowing plan for the upcoming quarter.

From October to December, the government intends to borrow ₱262 billion in Treasury bills (T-bills), 19.4 percent lower than the amount it planned to borrow in the third quarter. T-bills will comprise 60 percent of the total fourth-quarter debt offerings.

Meanwhile, Treasury bonds (T-bonds), or long-term government debt, will account for the remaining 40 percent, with planned borrowings of ₱175 billion. This is ₱190 billion, or 52.1 percent, lower than the third quarter’s ₱365 billion, continuing the decline seen in the previous quarter.

Planned domestic borrowings for the last quarter represent 17.1 percent of the government’s total planned borrowing of ₱2.55 trillion for 2025.

“Relatively lower NG [national government] borrowings have been consistent and the pattern for many years amid lower maturing NG debt and fewer working days during the Christmas holiday season, with more non-working holidays towards the end of the year,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said.

“However, a wider budget deficit and lower interest rates would fundamentally lead to more domestic borrowings in the total NG borrowing mix,” Ricafort added. The government aims to maintain an 80:20 domestic-to-external borrowing mix.

To recall, the Marcos administration’s gross borrowings declined slightly to ₱1.757 trillion in the first seven months of the year, driven by a drop in domestic loans despite a more than 50 percent increase in foreign debt.

Data from the BTr showed that the government’s debt as of end-July stood 0.1 percent lower than the ₱1.759 trillion in gross borrowings posted in the same period a year earlier.

As of end-July, gross borrowings accounted for 68.9 percent of the government’s full-year borrowing plan.