ManilaTimes-June 3
THE government’s outstanding debt has increased by more than P80 billion, reaching a record P12.76 trillion at the end of April. The Bureau of the Treasury on Thursday attributed the P83.40-billion jump “to the net issuance of government securities to both local and external lenders” and the peso depreciating further against the US dollar. Seventy percent of the debts were domestic. Domestic debt expanded by 0.8 percent to P8.93 trillion from P8.86 trillion at the end of March. External debts widened by 0.4 percent, to P3.82 trillion from P3.81 trillion. The government has raised P66.3 billion through domestic financing, the Treasury said. Since the end of 2021, domestic debt has gone up by 8.8 percent, or P765.44 billion. In April last year, the outstanding debt totaled P10.99 trillion, with P7.81 trillion borrowed domestically and P3.17 trillion sourced from abroad. The debt pile grew to P11.73 trillion by the end of 2021, with P8.2 billion in domestic borrowings and P3.56 billion in foreign loans.On the other hand, recent external debt was due to “net availment of external loans amounting to P28.56 billion and the effect of peso depreciation against the USD amounting to P31.50 billion.” It was helped out by a third currency adjustment of P43.86 billion. The new figures had been calculated based on a P52.33 to $1 exchange rate, softer than the P51.90:$1 used in March. The rate was at P50.97:$1 a year ago. The country’s outstanding debt is expected to hit P13.41 trillion this year, with domestic commitments reaching P4.40 trillion and external liabilities P4.01 trillion. Read more at: ad60p
