Government borrowings exceed program

MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos administration’s gross borrowings rose to P2.65 trillion in 2025 amid higher domestic borrowings, exceeding its planned financing program, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.

Latest data from the Treasury showed total gross financing went up by 3.5 percent to P2.65 trillion from P2.56 trillion in 2024, exceeding its P2.60-trillion borrowing plan.

In December alone, total gross borrowings plunged by 18 percent to P57.46 billion from P69.77 billion in the same month in 2024.

In 2025, domestic lenders remained the government’s primary source of financing, with borrowings surging by 10 percent to P2.11 trillion from P1.92 trillion the previous year. It accounted for nearly 80 percent of total borrowings.

Domestic borrowings were composed of P1.23 trillion in fixed-rate Treasury bonds and P425.61 billion from retail T-bonds, following an issuance in August.

The government tapped the local market, borrowing P300 billion through fixed rate treasury notes and P156.30 billion via T-bills.

On the other hand, financing from external sources slipped by 15 percent to P543.24 billion.

The government also secured its largest share of foreign financing from multilateral institutions via program loans at P213.08 billion and another P138.20 billion made up of project loans.

The Treasury raised $3.3 billion from the issuance of dollar bonds and euro-denominated sustainability bonds that were settled in February.

Last year’s gross borrowings sought to plug the government’s P1.58 trillion budget deficit, which surpassed the government’s P1.56 trillion forecast by 0.97 percent, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said.