Q1 govt borrowings cleared by MB dip 48% to $2.87B
F OREIGN borrowings approved by the Monetary Board declined 48 percent in the first quarter of 2024, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The data showed the approved government borrowings reached $2.87 billion in the first quarter of 2024, lower than the $5.56 billion approved in the same period in 2023.
BSP said these approved borrowings covered a total of five program loans amounting to $2.02 billion and two project loans worth $850 million.
The programs that these loans will finance include those on health care worth $910 million and digital transformation worth $410 million.
The list also includes programs on tax administration worth $400 million and inclusive finance development estimated at $300 million.
As for the loans to be used for projects, these will be spent on infrastructure projects worth $850 million.
In 2022, based on the National Economic and Development Authority’s Official Development Assistance Portfolio Review, the program loans amounted to $9.86 billion while roject loans amounted to $20.34 billion.
Program loans accounted for 30 percent of the total O DA commitment sin 2022 and project loans accountedfor 63 percent. the remaining 7 percent were composed of grants amounting to $2.2 billion in 2022.
Under Section 20, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, prior approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, through its Monetary Board, is required for all foreign loans to be contracted or guaranteed by the Republic of the Philippines.
Further, Letter of Instructions No. 158 dated 21 January 1974 requires all foreign borrowing proposals by the National Government, government agencies and government financial institutions to be submitted for approval-inprinciple by the Monetary Board before commencement of actual negotiations.
The BSP said it promotes the judicious use of the resources and ensures that external debt requirements are at manageable levels, to support external debt sustainability.