PH borrowing spree eases as economy recovers
The government borrowed P1.25 trillion from January to July or only nearly half of its borrowings a year ago amid the ongoing reopening of the Philippine economy, according to the head of the Department of Finance (DOF).
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno told the House committee on appropriations Friday that the amount borrowed in the first seven months accounted for 56 percent of the P2.21-trillion full-year financing program for 2022. The latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed that end-July total gross borrowings were 45-percent lower than the P2.27 trillion during the same period last year.
As of July, the national government borrowed P909.1 billion from domestic creditors mainly through the issuance of treasury bills and bonds, down from P1.83 trillion a year ago, BTr data showed. The seven-month locally sourced borrowings already accounted for 55 percent of the P1.65 trillion intended for the entire year.
“As part of the government’s prudent debt management strategy and capital market development efforts, we will draw the majority or around 75 percent of our financing from domestic sources. This approach will allow us to remain insulated from foreign exchange volatilities due to ongoing global geopolitical risks,” Diokno said.
Gross external borrowings during the first seven months also fell to P336.5 billion from P441.7 billion a year ago. Diokno said foreign loans and commercial bond issuances as of July accounted for three-fifths of this year’s P561.5-billion program.
The borrowing mix as of July was 73-percent domestic, 27-percent external. As a share to gross domestic product (GDP), the DOF estimated the debt-to-GDP ratio at 62.1 percent as of July. The government expects this ratio to settle at 62 percent — a 17-year-high — by yearend. Debt-to-GDP is said to be the better measure of an economy’s capability to repay its obligations, with a 60-percent threshold deemed as manageable by credit-rating agencies for emerging markets like the Philippines.
