The Marcos Jr. administration’s gross borrowings as of end-November 2025 have already surpassed 2024’s full-year total and are at high risk of breaching last year’s target of ₱2.6 trillion.

The latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed that the government’s borrowings during the first 11 months of 2025 already exceeded the total 2024 amount of ₱2.56 trillion by 1.3 percent, reaching ₱2.59 trillion.

Year-on-year, gross borrowings rose by 4.1 percent from ₱2.49 trillion at end-November 2024.

National Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza told Manila Bulletin last Monday, Dec. 29, that the government attained its planned borrowings from domestic lenders, but its program for foreign debt remains indicative as fund releases rely on project implementation.

“For our domestic borrowing, we attained our planned borrowings. For our external financing, however, the target is indicative, especially for project loans, since disbursements depend on the implementation of the projects,” Almanza said.

“Also, the foreign exchange (forex) valuation has an impact on the peso value of the external borrowing,” the National Treasurer further said, noting that “actual results will be available once we close our books [in 2026].”

At end-November 2025, gross borrowings already accounted for 99.9 percent of the government’s total planned borrowings of ₱2.6 trillion for the entire year, which was adjusted upward from ₱2.57 trillion previously.

Gross domestic borrowings swelled to ₱2.11 trillion as of end-November, up by ₱199 billion, or 10.4 percent, from the previous year’s gross loans from local sources of ₱1.91 trillion. Year-to-date, domestic borrowings accounted for 81.5 percent of total borrowings since January 2025, exceeding the government’s target share of 80 percent.

For 2025, 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.

It was noted that the double-digit declines in retail treasury bonds (RTBs) and short-dated treasury bills (T-bills) were not sufficient to offset other bond and note issuances. The government sold ₱425.6 billion worth of RTBs in 2025, more than a quarter lower than the ₱584.9 billion raised in the previous year.

Sales of T-bills likewise fell by 15.8 percent to ₱192.2 billion from ₱228.3 billion a year ago.

While borrowings declined for RTBs and short-dated IOUs, the government was able to raise a total of ₱1.19 trillion through the sale of fixed-rate treasury bonds (T-bonds) as of end-November last year, 8.6 percent higher than the ₱1.1 trillion issued during the same 11-month period in 2024.

Unchanged from its end-July 2025 record, the government issued fixed-rate treasury notes (FXTNs) worth ₱300 billion last year. There were no issuances of these debt notes in 2024.

Foreign borrowings fell by 16.8 percent to ₱484.9 billion as of end-November 2025, compared with ₱582.4 billion in the same period a year earlier. Loans sourced from foreign investors accounted for 18.7 percent of total borrowings for the period, falling short of the foreign debt target share of 20 percent.

As of end-November last year, government borrowings through the sale of global bonds dropped by more than a quarter to ₱192 billion from ₱256.2 billion a year earlier.

Program loans also declined by 12.6 percent to ₱201.4 billion from ₱230.5 billion a year ago. Meanwhile, loans to finance government projects were reduced by 4.3 percent to ₱91.6 billion from ₱95.7 billion in the previous year.

It can be recalled that the Marcos Jr. administration’s gross borrowings in 2024 exceeded its borrowing plan by ₱100 billion, or 4.07 percent higher than the programmed ₱2.46 trillion for the year.