Gov’t slows down local borrowing in fourth quarter
MANILA, Philippines — The Marcos administration plans to scale back local borrowing in the fourth quarter as its annual fundraising efforts wind down, the Bureau of the Treasury said.
The government will raise P437 billion through weekly debt offerings from October to December, according to a Sept. 22 memo.
The quarter’s program is 36.7-percent smaller than the P690 billion raised in the preceding period. However, it is 41-percent higher than the P310 billion targeted in the December quarter a year earlier.
Of the total, P262 billion will come from short-term Treasury bills (T-bills). Twelve auctions are scheduled for the quarter.
Each T-bills sale will aim to raise P22 billion. The Treasury has one more T-bill auction left in September. This will be followed by four in October, four in November and three in December.
READ: Philippine debt draws more foreign cash
T-bond program
Meanwhile, a total of five auction dates were lined up in the next quarter to raise P175 billion via longer-dated Treasury bonds (T-bonds).
The Treasury scheduled two T-bond offerings in October, two in November and one in December. Each issuance will target to raise P35 billion.
From January to July, total government financing reached P1.76 trillion, about flat from a year earlier.
That puts the Marcos government about two-thirds of the way through its P2.6-trillion borrowing program for 2025. This is a drive that is expected to push the debt stock to P17.36 trillion by year’s end.
READ: PH debt load hits new all-time high of P17.56T
The government needs to continue borrowing money from lenders to plug a projected budget deficit of P1.6 trillion, equivalent to 5.5 percent of gross domestic product.
Fiscal planners say they will continue to favor onshore borrowing to limit exposure to foreign exchange risks.
