Government debt load inched closer to P14-T mark in April

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s outstanding debt inched closer to the P14-trillion mark in April on the back of higher foreign borrowings, which was bloated by a weak peso.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury released Wednesday showed state liabilities amounted to P13.91 trillion in April, up 0.14% month-on-month.

Since the beginning of the year, obligations have piled up by P492.28 billion or 3.7%. Explaining the heavier debt burden, the Treasury said there was an increase in external borrowings, which cornered 32.0% of the total debt stock.

In April, external liabilities crept up 2.5% month-on-month to P4.45 trillion due to addition of foreign loans amounting to P27.98 billion. At the same time, the peso’s weakness against the US dollar pushed up the value of external debts by P94.28 billion.

Local debts, which accounted for 68.0% of the total stock, inched down 0.6% month-on-month to P9.46 trillion after the government paid P57.79 billion to creditors onshore.

That slightly offset the impact of the weak peso on the government’s domestic securities that are foreign currency-denominated, which fattened local debts by P2.47 billion in April.

The Marcos Jr. administration expects the state’s debt load to finish the year at P14.63 trillion.