THE national government’s outstanding debt declined 2.5% month-on-month to P7.709 trillion in the 11 months to November due to net redemptions of government securities, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported Thursday.
However, outstanding debt rose 7.2% year-on-year.
Of the total, 66.4% came from domestic sources, or P5.115 trillion, which was up 8.7% year-on-year.
Domestic debt fell 3.6% compared with the P5.304 trillion recorded in the 10 months to October.
“For November, domestic debt decreased mainly due to the net redemption of government securities amounting to P189.15 billion and the P0.01 billion effect of peso appreciation on onshore dollar bonds,” the BTr said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the remaining 33.6%, equivalent to P2.594 trillion, was borrowed from foreign lenders, up 4.3% year-on-year and 0.3% lower from the end of October.
“For November, the decline in external debt resulted from the combined effect of local and third-currency foreign exchange adjustments which decreased the value of foreign debt by P0.56 billion and P6.18 billion, respectively,” the BTr said, adding that month saw a net repayments of external loans worth P0.53 billion.
The government is operating on a budget deficit as it rollouts big-ticket infrastructure projects. It borrows from domestic and foreign lenders to fund programs that are not covered by its revenues, which is capped at 3.2% of gross domestic product of 2019.
The government has set a 73-27 borrowing mix target in favor of domestic sources this year as it manages the country’s exposure to fluctuating external risk.
Meanwhile, total guaranteed obligations rose 0.7% year-on-year to P474.997 billion, down 0.6% compared with end-October.
“The lower level of guarantees was due to foreign exchange movements which reduced the value of external guarantees by P1.61 billion. In addition, net repayment of domestic and external guarantees further trimmed P0.33 billion and P0.72 billion, respectively,” it said. — Beatrice M. Laforga
