PHL GOVT DEBT POSTS NEW HIGH OF P11.166T
THE national government’s outstanding debt has reached a new high of P11.166 trillion as of end-june this year, swelling by 23.3 percent from P9.054 trillion a year ago.
The Bureau of the Treasury reported on Thursday that the national government’s debt stock rose by P94.91 billion or 0.9 percent from P11.07 trillion as of end-may.
Year-to-date, this was also 14 percent higher than the end-2020 level of P9.795-trillion.
Still making up the bulk of the debt stock are domestic borrowings at 71.1 percent while the rest came from foreign sources.
Domestic debt as of end-june jumped by 28.2 percent year-on-year to P7.94 trillion from P6.19 trillion.
Month-on-month, it went up by P22.8 billion or 0.3 percent from P7.92 trillion as of end-may this year, resulting from the net issuance of government securities.
In January this year, the peso averaged trade against the dollar at P48.061.
In its earlier projections, the BSP expects cash remittances to grow by 4 percent in 2021, bouncing back from the 0.8-percent decline in 2020. BPO receipts are expected to grow by 5 percent in 2021 from the 1.3-percent decline in 2020.
Diokno also said the peso is following the trend seen across the region against a strong dollar.
“Let me make this crystal clear: the peso is not the only currency that has depreciated against the US dollar on a year-to-date basis. The reality is that the peso depreciation has been broadly in line with regional peers,” the governor said.
Diokno reiterated that they remain committed to a flexible exchange rate arrangement amid the depreciation trend.
“We believe that the exchange rate acts as an automatic stabilizer in the face of external shocks. A marketdetermined exchange rate has the benefit of reducing the negative impact of external shocks as a floating exchange rate can appreciate or depreciate immediately to stabilize the country’s balance of payments,” Diokno said.