Gov’t finance position improves in January

MANILA, Philippines—The government’s financing position in January showed a net payment of P64.7 billion—five times better than the net payment of P10.7 billion recorded in the same month last year, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

The biggest contributor to debt in January was the issuance of peso-denominated global bonds, which accounted for P54.77 billion of new borrowings.

In January, government financing showed a net outflow of P63.4 billion, resulting from the P55.8 billion in new foreign borrowings, and P119.2 billion in payments to domestic lenders.

The government’s financial position in the first month was a turnaround from the inflow of P45.8 billion in January 2010, which covered P72.96 billion in fresh funds from abroad and P27.2 billion in payment to local lenders.

Also in January, the government paid a total of P89.96 billion, including P1.32 billion in foreign loans and P88.64 billion in domestic debts.

This was 59-percent more than the P56.5 billion paid out in the same month last year, covering P2.3 billion for overseas obligations and P54.2 billion for local loans.

In terms of the fiscal position for the month, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima earlier reported that the government posted a budget surplus of P13.4 billion as revenue jumped 47 percent.

The January fiscal position reversed from the deficit of P37.1 billion posted in the same month of 2010.

The surplus was registered “on the back of much-improved revenue collections and the P24-billion remittances of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs)” to the Treasury, Purisima said.

Also, the finance chief said a primary surplus of P49.3 billion was posted in January, “which is the sixth primary surplus posted by the Aquino administration from July 2010.”

The government’s fiscal position, when reckoned without interest payments, shows the so-called primary surplus or deficit.

Total government revenue in January reached P135.9 billion, or 47.3 percent, higher than the year-ago amount of P92.3 billion.

Expenditures reached P122.5 billion—5.3 percent lower than the P129.4 billion in January 2010.