Gov’t IOUs up to P3.95T in Jan.

The total amount of outstanding government-issued debt paper as of January hit P3.952 trillion, as the Bureau of the Treasury held more auctions given the higher volume of domestic borrowings scheduled in the first quarter.

This was higher than the P3.933 trillion issued as of December.

The government has raised to P180 billion the amount it would borrow from domestic sources in the first quarter through the sale of T-bills and T-bonds. In line with this target, the Treasury will be holding weekly auctions instead of just twice a month.

As domestic interest rates remain relatively low, the Duterte administration wanted to finance its programmed wider budget deficit, equivalent to 3 percent of the gross domestic product in the next six years, through a borrowing mix of 80 percent local and 20 percent foreign.

“We are in the right trajectory in terms of meeting the [2017 borrowing] mix,” said National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon last week.

Last year, the financing mix was 77-percent domestic, 23-percent external.

As of end-January, treasury bonds accounted for the bulk of outstanding debt paper, with a face amount of P3.676 trillion, up from P3.646 trillion a month ago.

Outstanding treasury bills, meanwhile, amounted to P277 billion, down from P288 billion last December.