Government Debt Sets New record High at PHP 13.64 Trillion in October

The Philippine Government’s outstanding debt reached a new record-high of PHP 13.64 trillion as of end-October. In a statement, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) stated that outstanding debt rose 0.9 percent from the previous month. Year-on-year, the current outstanding debt stock was up 13.95 percent. Domestic debt increased 10.47 percent year-on-year (0.59 percent month-on-month) to PHP 9.36 trillion (USD 167.52 billion) as the government securities issuances increased obligations by PHP 55.83 billion (999.26 million) and currency depreciation added another PHP 1.25 billion (USD 22.37 million). Meanwhile, external debt was up 22.34 percent year-on-year (1.64 percent month-on-month) to PHP 4.29 trillion (USD 76.78 billion) as of end-October. While the Philippine government’s budget deficit was up 54.08 percent year-on-year to PHP 99.1 billion (USD 1.77 billion) in October, for the first ten months of the year the fiscal deficit has narrowed 7.61 percent to PHP 1.11 trillion (USD 19.86 billion). The nation’s debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 63.7 percent as of end-September, with the government targeting a year-end ratio of 61.8 percent, a debt-to-GDP ratio of 52.5 percent by 2028.