The Philippine government’s outstanding debt increased to a new high of P16.312 trillion last January as the country incurred new loans on the back of weaker peso.
Data from the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) released on Tuesday, March 4, showed that the country’s outstanding debt increased by 10.29 percent from P14.790 trillion during the same month last year.
The country’s total debt in January was also 1.63 percent higher than in December 2024, when it was P16.051 trillion.
“The (…) rise in debt stock was due to the net incurrence of new domestic and external debt as well as the impact of peso depreciation against the US dollar,” BTr said.
According to the BTr, the peso weakened against the US dollar from P56.403 in January 2024 to P58.375 in January 2025.
Domestic debt
Domestic debt accounted for 67.9 percent of the total debt stock, while the remaining 32.1 percent comprised foreign loans.
Domestic borrowings in January stood at P11.084 trillion, 9.07 percent higher year on year from P10.162 trillion in January 2024 and 1.41 percent higher compared to P10.930 trillion in December 2024.
The same BTr data showed that government securities accounted for nearly all domestic debt at P11.083 trillion, 9.07 percent higher than P10.162 trillion in January 2024 and up by 1.41 percent from P10.930 trillion in December 2024.
“The valuation effect of local currency depreciation against the US dollar added P1.51 billion to the January debt total,” BTr said.
Foreign debt
Foreign obligations, on the other hand, stood at P5.228 trillion in January, 12.98 percent higher than P10.162 trillion during the same month last year and 2.10 percent higher than P5.120 trillion in December 2024.
External debt is comprised of loans worth P2.523 trillion government securities worth P2.704 trillion.
Government securities consisted of P2.327 trillion in US dollar bonds, P206.71 billion in euro bonds, P57.10 billion in Japanese yen bonds, P58.38 billion in Islamic certificates and P54.77 billion in peso global bonds. (TCSP)
