FORMER president Rodrigo Duterte left Malacañang with P13.8 trillion in national debt, of which P7.2 trillion was borrowed during his six-year term, Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon said Wednesday.
“Thus, the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is struggling to pay the national debt, which has ballooned because of the heavy borrowing scheme of the previous administration,” Gadon told The Manila Times via Viber.
Citing data from the Bureau of the Treasury, the presidential anti-poverty adviser said the national debt was now at P15 trillion.
Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon. PHOTO BY J. GERARD SEGUIA
Gadon said the current administration was able to pay its outside lenders around P1.28 trillion in the first six months of 2024.
“The Marcos administration has taken great strides trying its best to accelerate payments so that debt burdens can be eased up in the future,” he added.
He said that for 89 years, spanning 14 presidents from Manuel L. Quezon to Benigno Aquino III), the accumulated debt was only P6.6 trillion.
The Duterte administration borrowed P7.2 trillion in just six years.
He said the pandemic happened during Duterte’s administration, but there were issues “like trillions spent on anomalous procurement on Pharmally vaccines and remdesivir, among others.”
“What about the hundreds of billions allocated for the flood control projects that turned out to be a dud? Even President Bongbong [Marcos] was duped into relying on the flood control projects done by the previous administration,” Gadon added.
Add to this the P51 billion allocated to Rep. Paulo Duterte, supposed to be for flood control in Davao, he said.
Filipinos must be reminded how the national debt ballooned during Duterte’s term, Gadon said.
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