PH DEBT BALLOONS TO P13.9 TRILLION

THE Philippines’ outstanding debt stood at P13.9 trillion as of April 30, 2023, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

The BTr reported that the debt increased by .4 percent or P54.24 billion from March to

April.

The slight increase was attributed to the net issuance of external debt and the depreciation of the local currency against the U.S. dollar.

The BTr said 68 percent of the total debt amounting to P9.457 trillion was sourced domestically, while 32 percent or P4.453 trillion came from foreign borrowings.

Domestic debt decreased by 0.6 percent compared to the previous month, mainly due to the net redemption of domestic securities totaling P57.79 billion. In contrast, foreign borrowings in April were higher by P109.56 billion compared to March, primarily because of the depreciation of the local currency.

“For April, the increment to external debt was due to the P27.98 billion net availment of external loans and P94.28 billion impact of local currency depreciation against the U.S. dollar,” the BTr said.

“On the other hand, third currency adjustments against the U.S. dollar trimmed P12.30 billion from the peso value of foreign currency debt,” it added.

As of April, the Philippine peso had the lowest appreciation against the U.S. dollar, at P56 per $1.

The finance department previously announced that the country’s debt-to-gross domestic product ratio, which measures the government’s debt relative to the size of the economy, decreased by 2.5 percentage points. It went from 63.5 percent in the first quarter of 2022 to 61 percent from January to March 2023.