Outstanding government securities spike to P5.25 T in May

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s domestic debt stock inched up by almost one percent to P5.25 trillion as of end-May from P5.2 trillion in end-April as the government issued more debt papers amid declining interest rates.

According to the latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the bulk or P4.62 trillion of the end-May domestic debt came in the form of outstanding treasury bonds, 0.87 percent higher than the end-April level of P4.58 trillion.

This is comprised of bonds maturing in three years (P94.89 billion), five years (P261.51 billion), seven years (P628.67 billion), 10 years (P467.29 billion), 20 years (P368.06 billion), and 25 years (P235.98 billion); retail treasury bonds (P1.57 trillion); benchmark bonds (P909.29 billion), and others.

On the other hand, the BTr said P632.99 billion of the outstanding government securities came in the form of treasury bills. This was likewise 1.75 percent higher than the P622.08 billion posted in April.

Further broken down, the T-bills include 91-day debt papers amounting to P113.84 billion, 182-day securities reaching P179.55 billion, and 364-day notes totaling P339.6 billion.

All of the BTr’s regular auctions last May saw successful results with government securities fetching lower rates amid healthy demand.

Treasury officials attributed this mainly to domestic factors, such as easing inflation, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ move to cut interest rates by 25 basis points last May 9, and the first tranche of reserve requirement reduction last May 31.

The Philippine government borrows from both domestic and external lenders to plug the expected deficit in its budget, which is capped at 3.2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) this 2019.

This year, the national government is programmed to borrow P1.19 trillion, 20 percent higher than last year’s borrowing program of P986 billion.

About P891.7 billion of this amount is expected to come from domestic lenders, while the remaining P297.2 billion would be sourced from external creditors.

Meanwhile, the BTr warned the public against unscrupulous individuals using the name and logo of the bureau to collect remittances through unofficial channels.

“The BTr wishes to inform the general public that it has not given permission to any individual or entity to use its logo and/or letterhead nor has it given authority to any person to conduct the collection of remittance through SMS, unofficial email, or any form of social media,” the BTr said.

“Please be informed that any message through social media, SMS, or unsolicited and unofficial email asking for remittance to BTr is a scam. The scammers behind these fraudulent messages are posing as BTr personnel in an attempt to obtain money from unsuspecting persons,” it added.

The agency reminded the public that any electronic correspondence with BTr personnel will only be made through their official email address with the official domain name, “@treasury.gov.ph” or through the official and verified BTr facebook page and twitter account.

Likewise, any fees are paid directly to BTr or through authorized banks. The BTr said it will never ask any person to send payment by check, money order or wire transfer to any unauthorized person.