Government gross borrowings reached P2.74 trillion in 2020

MANILA, Philippines — Gross borrowings by the national government reached P2.74 trillion in 2020 from domestic and external sources as the country ramped up financing for its pandemic response, data from the Bureau of Treasury showed.

This was higher than the gross borrowings of P1.01 trillion incurred in 2019 and P897.55 billion in 2018, but below the borrowing program of P3 trillion for 2020.

The bulk of the borrowings in 2020 came from domestic financing which amounted to P1.998 trillion, with borrowings sourced through the issuance of P701.742 billion worth of Treasury Bonds, P833.638 billion in Retail Treasury Bonds, and P463.309 billion in Treasury Bills.

Financing from external sources, meanwhile, stood at P742.412 billion in 2020, with the bulk coming from program loans totaling P375.198 billion.

Other external sources were global bonds totaling P250.799 billion and euro bonds worth P67.329 billion during the year.

In 2020, borrowings sourced from project loans reached P49.086 billion.

In a virtual forum last week, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the large structural liquidity of the domestic financial system would enable the government to continue prioritizing the domestic financing to mitigate the build-up of foreign exchange risks.

As the country’s sovereign debt rating remains stable, he said the country would continue to have good access to external commercial borrowings and official development assistance.