Government settles P259 billion debt in May

MANILA, Philippines — The government has paid off P258.97 billion in debts in May largely due to the repayment of provisional advances from the central bank, according to the Bureau of the Treasury.

Data from the Treasury showed that the government was able to repay more of its obligations than the amount it borrowed during the month.

The government borrowed P11.71 billion from external sources in May, but managed to pay P270.68 billion from local lenders.

In the same period last year, the government borrowed a total of P112.19 billion.

The government paid P300 billion in provisional advances to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Under the law, the BSP can give provisional advances to the government, with or without interest, to finance expenditures listed in the yearly program.

During the month, the government borrowed from the domestic market by issuing P115.21 billion in fixed-rate Treasury bonds. At the same time, it recorded a net redemption of P85.89 billion for Treasury bills (T-bills).

In terms of external financing, the government sought P11.71 billion in project loans from multilateral institutions.

For the January to May period, gross borrowings dipped 48 percent to P924.429 billion from P1.765 trillion in 2021.

External financing went up by 10.5 percent to P279.61 billion, but domestic borrowings plummeted by 57 percent to P644.82 billion.

This year, the government plans to borrow P2.47 trillion, of which P1.91 trillion would come from domestic sources while the remaining P560.58 billion would be sourced abroad.

In 2021, the government slashed its borrowings by six percent to P2.58 trillion after it settled some of its pandemic debts.