The national government’s new debt pile grew to ₱2.48 trillion as of the end of October, despite a reduction in foreign borrowings, a figure at risk of expanding further due to the recent weakening of the peso.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed that the government’s total borrowings as of end-October increased by ₱53 billion or 2.2 percent to ₱2.48 trillion from ₱2.43 trillion in the same period last year.

National Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza told reporters the recent slump of the Philippine peso could affect the revaluation of the country’s dollar-denominated borrowings.

Such an adjustment could inflate the gross debt close to or above the year-end outstanding debt target of ₱17.35 trillion.

At end-October, gross borrowings accounted for 95.4 percent of the government’s total planned financing of ₱2.6 trillion for 2025, which was adjusted upward from ₱2.57 trillion previously.

Gross domestic debt swelled to ₱2.03 trillion as of end-October, 9.1 percent higher than last year’s gross loans from local sources at ₱1.86 trillion. It accounted for 81.9 percent of total borrowings during the 10-month period, exceeding the government’s target share of 80 percent.

This year, the government is targeting to secure 80 percent of its financing from domestic sources and 20 percent from foreign sources, resulting in an 80:20 borrowing mix.

Notably, the government issued a total of ₱425.6 billion in retail treasury bonds (RTBs) in August, compared to ₱584.9 billion a year ago. It can be recalled that there was zero issuance of such scale until August.

While borrowings fell on the RTBs, the government raised a total of ₱1.12 trillion through the sale of fixed-rate treasury bonds (T-bonds) this year, 5.1 percent higher than the ₱1.07 trillion issued a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the government lowered its borrowings via short-dated treasury bills (T-bills) by 12 percent to ₱184.2 billion from ₱209.4 billion in the previous year.

Unchanged from the end-July record, the government issued fixed-rate treasury notes (FXTNs) worth ₱300 billion this year. There was no sale of these debt notes last year.

Foreign borrowings dropped by 20.6 percent to ₱449.4 billion as of end-October, compared to ₱566.2 billion in the same period a year earlier. Loans sourced from foreign investors accounted for 18.1 percent of total borrowings for the period, falling short of the foreign debt’s target share of 20 percent.

As of end-October, government borrowing via the sale of global bonds dropped by more than a quarter to ₱192 billion from ₱256.2 billion a year earlier.

Its program loans also fell by 22.9 percent to ₱172 billion from ₱223 billion a year ago. Lastly, loans to finance government projects were reduced by 1.8 percent to ₱85.4 billion from ₱87 billion in the previous year.

It can be recalled that the Marcos administration’s gross borrowings surged to ₱2.56 trillion in 2024, a 16.9 percent increase from ₱2.19 trillion in the previous year, driven by a sharp rise in both domestic and foreign debt.

Last year’s total borrowings exceeded the administration’s borrowing plan by ₱100 billion. It was 4.07 percent higher than the programmed ₱2.46 trillion for the year.