Gov’t borrowings jump 78%

The government last year borrowed more than the amount of outstanding debt it settled as the Duterte administration rolls out its ambitious infrastructure program.

In 2017, the government paid P680.5 billion in debt, down 14 percent from the P789.9 billion in 2016, Bureau of the Treasury data showed.

Last year, amortization payments fell to P369.9 billion from 2016’s P485.5 billion.

On the other hand, interest payments inched up to P310.5 billion from P304.5 billion in 2016.

The government’s gross borrowings last year jumped 78 percent to P901.7 billion from 2016’s P507 billion.

External borrowings from multilateral lenders’ program and project loans as well as the government’s global bond sale rose to P168.1 billion from P149.5 billion in 2016.

Borrowings from domestic sources through the sale of treasury bills and bonds more than doubled to P733.6 billion from 2016’s P357.5 billion.

To recall, the Treasury raised a record P255.4 billion from its issuance of five-year retail treasury bonds to small investors in December, on top of P181.9 billion from the sale of three-year RTBs in April last year. —BEN O. DE VERA