Business NEWS

Former President Duterte borrowed P6.843 trillion in total during his six years in Malacañang, driven mainly by his administration’s borrowing spree at the height of the pandemic, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

The World Bank said the Philippine government’s debt load remains manageable despite recent acceleration amid the prolonged pandemic.

As the pandemic begins to slowdown and the economy further reopens, the national government’s borrowing requirement was significantly reduced in April mainly due to less financing coming from overseas lenders.

The national government’s debt stock continued to rise in April this year, driven mainly by additional borrowings from both local and foreign creditors as well as the weakening peso against the US dollar, the Bureau of the Treasury reported.

Government debt load in March soared by more than half a trillion pesos in the month of March alone on the back of borrowing spree from domestic and foreign lenders, data from the Bureau of the Treasury revealed.

Government debt continued to snowball in February, driven mainly by both domestic and offshore borrowings as well as foreign exchange fluctuations.

The national government incurred more loans in January, bringing its debt above the P12-trillion mark for the first time, as the Philippines bogged down by prolonged Covid-19 pandemic.

The next elected Philippine president will pay the loans secured by the Duterte administration for the country’s pandemic response, the government’s chief economic manager said on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

The Philippines incurred more debt last year, hitting nearly P12 trillion.

Debt servicing by the Philippine government jumped 203 percent in November due to higher interest and principal payments, data from the Bureau of the Treasury revealed.

The Philippines managed to cut new borrowings in November last year due to significantly lower financing from domestic creditors.

The national government’s debt declined last month due to repayments and favorable foreign exchange, the Bureau of the Treasury reported on Wednesday, Dec. 29.

Senatorial aspirant and human rights lawyer Chel Diokno on Monday, Dec. 6, reckoned that the continued rise in the Philippines’ outstanding debt stock is a cause for concern.

The Philippine government’s outstanding debt nears the P12-trillion mark in October this year due to higher domestic borrowings, the Bureau of the Treasury reported on Wednesday, Dec. 1.

Debt payments by the Philippine government were nearing the P1 trillion mark in the first nine-months of the year due to higher interest and principal settlements.

The next Department of Finance (DOF) head needs to keep a close eye on four pressing issues, such as public debt, inflation, exacerbated inequality and climate change, President Duterte’s chief economic manager said.

Government borrowings grew at a much slower pace in the first nine months of the year as the need for additional financing to augment the country’s coronavirus war chest started to wane, data from the Bureau of the Treasury revealed.

The Philippine government debt rose in September nearing the P12-trillion mark due to higher borrowings from local and foreign creditors as well as depreciation of the peso, the Bureau of the Treasury reported.