NG borrowings in January surge 6-fold to P710.32B

THE national government’s gross borrowings in January this year surged to P710.32 billion, rising more than six-fold compared to the same period a year ago.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed gross borrowings for the first month of the year amid the Covid-19 pandemic jumped by 574.43 percent from P105.321 billion in January 2020 mainly because of the national government’s P540-billion short-term borrowings from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Almost 96 percent of the gross borrowings for the month came from domestic sources while the rest was sourced from foreign entities.

Domestic borrowings for the month ballooned to P680.76 billion, growing nearly 17-fold from just P41.17 billion in the same period last year.

Apart from short-term borrowings from BSP, the government also borrowed through Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds (P90 billion) and Treasury Bills (P50.761 billion).

On the other hand, foreign borrowings for the month plunged by 53.9 percent to P29.56 billion from last year’s P64.16 billion.

Program loans amounting to P19.08 billion comprised the bigger share of foreign borrowings while the remaining P10.475 billion came from a project loan.

For this year, the national government programmed to borrow around P3 trillion this year, almost the same amount it programmed to borrow in 2020.

The government has since ramped up its borrowing plan to finance the expected higher budget deficit and to boost its war chest against the pandemic.

Gross borrowings in 2020 soared to P2.74 trillion, nearly triple the P1.016 trillion posted in 2019.

Debt service

MEANWHILE, the national government also reported debt payments in January reached P219.8 billion, up by 50.5 percent from P146.05 billion in the same month a year ago.

Most of the debt payments for the month went to amortization while the rest was used to pay interest.

Year-on-year, amortization payments in January climbed to P172.77 billion, more than double last year’s P84.64 billion.

Interest payments, meanwhile, slipped by 23.43 percent to P47.02 billion from P61.415 billion in the same month in the previous year.

Domestic interest payments in January amounted to P29.38 billion while P17.647 billion were spent for interest payments of foreign liabilities.

Of the total amortization for the month, P122.88 billion was used for foreign debt and P49.89 billion for domestic debt.

Total debt payments last year hit a record P962.47 billion as the national government needed to keep up with more financial obligations for its response to the Covid-19 pandemic. This is a 14.25-percent increase from P842.45 billion in 2019.

This was also the biggest full-year debt payment made by the government since the Bureau of the Treasury started collecting data in 1986.

This year, the government has programmed to spend P1.79 trillion for its debt service, bigger by 78.4 percent from P1.005 trillion it programmed in 2020.

The country’s total outstanding debt as of end-january this year has already reached a new record high of P10.327 trillion. This was a 33-percent jump from P7.76 trillion recorded a year ago.