Gov’t debt burden rose to P5.21T in September

The national government’s debt stock reached P5.21 trillion as of September, rising by P31.9 billion or 0.6 percent from the August level mainly due to a net issuance of domestic securities as well as a continually strengthening peso.

The amount of outstanding obligations as of end-September was 7 percent or P342.2 billion higher than the level posted in the same month of 2011.

With the latest population estimate pegged at 96 million, according to the National Statistical Coordination Board, the amount of total outstanding debt represented a share of P54,303 for each Filipino.

Documents on the total outstanding debt from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that 61.1 percent or P3.18 trillion was borrowed from domestic lenders.

Local debt increased by P49.3 billion or 1.6 percent from the P3.14 trillion posted in August. The increase was attributed mainly to the government having issued more local debt paper compared to the volume that was repaid.

Of the total outstanding debt, 38.9 percent or P2.03 trillion was booked in foreign currencies such as the US dollar, euro and yen. Aside from loans extended by multilateral lenders and official aid from foreign governments, the Philippines also borrows abroad through the issuance of bonds denominated in these currencies.

Foreign borrowings decreased by P17.4 billion or 0.8 percent from the P2.05 trillion owed to overseas lenders in August. The decrease in foreign debt was due mainly to the appreciation of the peso against the greenback, which trimmed P19.4 billion from the debt stock. Likewise, debt payments in September exceeded fresh inflows by P7.6 billion.

However, the appreciation of the yen and the euro against the dollar added P9.4 billion to the outstanding debt.

In September, government debt paper pegged in dollars amounted to an equivalent of P1.04 trillion while yen and euro loans stood at P53.9 billion and P27 billion, respectively.

Total government-guaranteed debt, or what is referred to as contingent liabilities, went down by P3.2 billion or 0.6 percent to P540.5 billion. The decrease was attributed mainly to the depreciation of the dollar and net repayments.