The national government’s gross borrowings as of end-October shrank by almost 6 percent year-on-year to P2.75 trillion.
Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that the government’s gross borrowings during the 10-month period fell by 5.99 percent from P2.92 trillion a year ago.
With only two months left for this year, the latest figure is already equivalent to 89.6 percent of its P3.07-trillion borrowing program.
Broken down, gross domestic borrowings from January to October settled at P2.23 trillion, down by 5.08 percent from P2.35 trillion in 2020.
The bulk of the amount was sourced from Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds (P1.19 trillion), followed by short-term borrowings from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or BSP (P540 billion), Retail Treasury Bonds/Premyo Bonds (P463.3 billion), Retail Onshore Dollar Bonds (P80.84 billion). In the same period, there was also a net redemption of Treasury Bills amounting to P43.94 billion.
Net debt redemption means there were more debts repaid compared to the amount borrowed during the period.
Meanwhile, gross foreign borrowings in the same period also contracted by 9.7 percent to P518.7 billion from last year’s P574.4 billion.
This was raised through global bonds (P146.17 billion), program loans (P139.98 billion), euro-denominated bonds (P121.97 billion), a project loan (P86.41 billion), and yen-denominated samurai bonds (P24.19 billion).
For the month of October, gross borrowings plunged by 78 percent to P145.78 billion from P663.21 billion in the same month last year.
It was in October last year when the BSP lent P540 billion to the government. The government borrows to meet its spending requirements as well as to finance its budget deficit.
As of end-October, the country’s budget gap widened to P1.2 trillion from only P940.6 billion in the same period a year ago as state expenditures continued to outpace revenues.
The national government’s outstanding debt as of end-September this year ballooned to another record high of P11.92 trillion, already breaching the government’s expected level of debt stock of P11.73 trillion by the end of this year. This was also higher by 27.2 percent, or P2.55 trillion, than the P9.37 trillion in the same period in 2020.
Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to rise to 59.1 percent this year and peak next year at 60.8 percent—slightly above the internationally accepted threshold—before gradually tapering off to 60.7 percent and 59.7 percent in 2023 and 2024.
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