Pervasive corruption in the Philippines is preventing the country from realizing its full economic potential, despite President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. making “steady progress” on his reform agenda, according to the think tank Capital Economics. In its Asia Economic Outlook report for the...
While government debt continued to pile up, private businesses and individuals in the Philippines held back on borrowings amid conditions not too conducive to debt accumulation. The latest data from the Washington-based Institute of International Finance (IIF), released on Thursday, Sept. 25,...
BACOLOD CITY – A 46-year-old man was allegedly killed over an unpaid debt in Barangay Suba, Calatrava, Negros Occidental on Saturday, Sept. 20. Police Capt. Jesus Alba, chief of Calatrava Municipal Police Station, said the victim and his wife were riding a motorcycle on their way home when they...
Despite an increase in the Philippines’ general government (GG) debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio to 57.1 percent in 2024, the Marcos Jr. administration is targeting to gradually lower this debt ratio to the 54-percent level by the end of 2028. This was indicated in the national...
President Marcos has defended the government’s growing debt levels, saying loans are being used to invest in Filipinos and not merely to cover gaps in the national budget. Marcos said this after the country’s debt ballooned to P17.2 trillion as of July 2025. In the third episode of his podcast...
The national government’s outstanding debt breached the ₱17-trillion mark in June, reaching a fresh record high of ₱17.27 trillion. According to the latest data reported by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the total debt stock bloated by 2.1 percent or ₱350 billion from the end-May figure....
BACOLOD CITY – A 40-year-old man was allegedly shot and killed by his friend over a P1,500 debt in Barangay Matab-ang, Talisay City, Negros Occidental on Wednesday, July 16. Police Lt. Col. Alvin Christopher Baybayan, Talisay City police chief, said the 48-year-old suspect and the victim chanced...
The Tokyo-based think tank Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) has flagged rising post-pandemic debt repayments in developing economies across the region, including the Philippines, which are depriving governments of more funding for public goods and services. “Between 2008 and 2019, annual...
The Philippines remained one of the world’s best in investor relations (IR) and debt transparency, even as it lost to Indonesia this year the top spot it held last year in the annual ranking of the Washington-based Institute of International Finance (IIF). In the 2025 IIF Investor Relations and...
Malacañang clarified that the over P4 trillion borrowed under the Marcos administration was spent on essential public services and development programs, not wasted on frivolous spending. Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said this as critics raised concerns about the ballooning...
The national government’s outstanding debt reached ₱16.92 trillion in May, setting a new record high as it neared the ₱17-trillion mark, from ₱16.75 trillion at end-April. According to the latest data reported by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the one-percent, or ₱166.2-billion,...
The Philippines has a "low" sovereign debt risk despite its ballooning obligations, but think tank Capital Economics cautioned that emerging markets (EMs) with better managed public finances should not rest on their laurels amid lingering fiscal strains. In a June 12 report authored by Capital...
