’20 GROSS BORROWINGS SOAR 169.8% TO P2.74T

AS the Philippines amassed debts to fund the state’s response to the economic and health crises, the government’s gross borrowings nearly tripled in 2020, according to data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTR).

The BTR data showed gross borrowings reached P2.741 trillion in 2020, a 169.85 percent increase from the P1.016 trillion posted in 2019.

The data for 2020 was also a record high in almost 40 years, according to figures available in the BTR website.

The data showed gross borrowings in 2020 was the highest since 2010, the year after the 2009 Global Financial Crisis. Gross borrowings in that year amounted to P1.019 trillion.

In 2020, the country’s gross external borrowings reached P742.412 billion while gross domestic borrowings amounted to P1.999 trillion.

Gross external borrowings surged 130.6 percent in 2020 from P321.947 billion in 2019 while domestic borrowings ballooned 188.06 percent from P693.843 billion.

The bulk of gross external borrowings was for program loans, which amounted to P375.198 billion, followed by global bonds worth P250.799 billion.

Retail bonds

The lion’s share of domestic borrowings in 2020, meanwhile, were in Retail Treasury Bonds worth P833.638 billion, followed by Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds amounting to P701.742 billion.

The data also showed total net borrowings for 2020 reached P2.499 trillion, a 185.199- percent increase from the P876.296 billion posted in 2019.

In 2020, the government also ramped up its borrowing program to an all-time high nominal P3 trillion from P1.4 trillion originally.

The funds should cover the expected doubling of the budget deficit as well as to fund its spending requirements for its Covid-19 response.