Gov’t debt rose to P4.99T in January

The government’s debt stock rose to P4.99 trillion as of January, increasing by P42.1 billion or 0.9 percent from the December figures as the state incurred more new obligations than what it settled, according to the Bureau of the Treasury.

The amount of outstanding obligations as of the end of January was also 5.3 percent, or P252.6 billion, higher than the level posted in the same month of 2011.

With the population estimated to reach 96 million in 2011, the amount of total outstanding debt would mean that each citizen has a share of P52,013.

Data on total outstanding debt from the treasury bureau showed that 58 percent or P2.88 trillion was borrowed from domestic lenders.

The local debt increased by P4 billion or 0.1 percent from P2.87 trillion posted in December. The increase was attributed to the government having redeemed more maturing securities compared to new issues.

On the other hand, 42 percent or P2.12 trillion of the total outstanding debt was booked in foreign currencies such as the US dollar as well as the euro and yen.

Foreign borrowing increased by P38.1 billion or 1.8 percent from the P2.08 trillion owed to overseas lenders in December.

The increase in foreign debt was due mainly to a net availment of P64.28 billion—which meant that new loans that the government incurred were higher by that amount compared to the payments it made.

The appreciation of the yen and the euro against the dollar also added P13.9 billion to the debt stock. On the other hand, the reclassification of some of the country’s foreign debt shaved off P6.64 billion to the accumulated obligations.

In January, government debt paper pegged in dollars amounted to an equivalent of P1.26 trillion while yen and euro loans stood at P56.5 billion and P28.3 billion, respectively.

The government’s total contingent debt—composed mainly of sovereign guarantees—went down by P4.4 billion or 1.8 percent to P569 billion.

In March, Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said that the debt stock—when compared to the size of the economy or gross domestic product—settled at 50.9 percent as of the end of 2011.

Purisima said this was the lowest debt-to-GDP ratio in the past 13 years or since 1998 when it was at 48.1 percent.