Gov’t debt up to P5.72T as of Nov

MANILA, Philippines - The government’s outstanding debt rose to P5.72 trillion as of November last year due to rising domestic obligations.

The latest figure  was up by P41 billion or 0.7 percent compared with the same period in 2013 with debt from domestic sources rising 1.2 percent to P3.79 trillion.

Of the total outstanding debt, 66 percent was accounted for by peso-denominated liabilities while the balance of 34 percent comprised debts denominated in foreign currencies.

Debt from foreign lenders amounted to P1.926 trillion, down 0.2 percent from P1.93 trillion. The decline was due to the appreciation of the local currency against the dollar.

If the estimated 94 million Filipinos would be made to equally share the burden of paying the government’s outstanding debt, each would have to shell out P60,851.

On a month-on-month basis, the outstanding debt of the country went up by P3 billion.

Total guaranteed debt, meanwhile, stood at P432 billion, 8.3 percent or P39 billion lower than the previous year.

Currency adjustments brought down the value of external guarantees while domestic guaranteed debt was reduced by the redemption of outstanding agri-agra bonds.

For the past two years, the government has relied heavily on external borrowings to help ward off speculative flows and curb the peso’s appreciation.

The country recently raised $2 billion from  the sale of dollar-denominated bonds, marking its return to the international debt market.