P15.02 TRILLION, PHILLIPPINES OUTSTANDING DEBT FOR APRIL 2024

The debt of the Philippines reached P15.02 trillion last month of April 2024, according to the Bureau of Treasury's (BTr)record, it is eight percent higher compared to the almost P14 trillion of the country's debt in April 2023. 

The Treasury explained that the Filipino debt has ballooned due to high government borrowing, particularly domestic borrowing, as well as the low exchange rate of the peso against the dollar, which closed yesterday at 58.63 pesos.

Compared to last year’s debt on the same month, this year’s debt increases (Photo courtesy of GMA Integrated News)

It is equivalent to P138,000 obligations per Filipino, BTr data showed that total slate obligations had gone up by P91.5 billion or 0.61 percent on a month-on-month basis. The increase in liabilities as of end-April to “government net financing” which means the government had borrowed more than it settled to the creditors during the period. 

Adding the impact of the falling peso, which had increased the peso value of foreign currency-denominated debts. P401 billion or 2.74 percents was the national government total liabilities accumulated by the beginning of the year.

The impact of peso depreciation on foreign-currency-denominated guarantees equivalent to P3.80 billion and the net availment of domestic guarantees totaling P7.54 billion caused a 2.9 percent increase in the total debt guaranteed obligations to P356.06 billion.

A larger borrowing plan of P2.57 trillion was announced by the Department of Finance this year, up from the previous program's P2.46 trillion. The government is raising funds to close a P1.5 trillion budget gap that was larger than anticipated.

With a larger financing scheme planned for 2024, sovereign debts as a percentage of the economy would reach 60.3% by year's end, just beyond the 60 percent mark that credit rating agencies consider reasonable for developing nations such as the Philippines.

Source: Philippine Star

Be part of ImHenyo community!

Get featured by sharing your stories, news, and comments

Email us at [email protected]