THE national government’s (NG) gross borrowings ballooned to P1.57 trillion in the first half of 2024 as domestic debt surged, according to latest Treasury bureau data.
Domestic borrowings accounted for the bulk at P1.3 trillion, up 27.2 percent from the P1.02 trillion recorded in the same period last year.
In June alone, domestic debt was at P132.48 billion, lower than last year’s P143.92 billion, but slightly higher than P131.72 billion in May.
Based on the bureau’s latest cash operations report, overall borrowings totaled P1.57 billion for the first six months, up by 12.9 percent from P1.39 billion in 2023.
Foreign borrowings, meanwhile, went down by 27.02 percent at P267.41 billion from last year’s P366.44 billion.
External debt significantly slumped to P15.7 billion in June from P22.57 billion and P127.61 billion last year and a month earlier, respectively.
The bulk of domestic borrowings, or P609.21 billion, came from fixed-rate Treasury bonds, with another P584.86 billion raised from retail T-bonds and P109.07 billion from T-bills.
Global bonds, meanwhile, accounted for most of the foreign borrowings for the period at P115.25 billion, and another P100.50 billion came from program loans and P51.67 billion from project loans.
Government financing for the first six months of 2024 totaled P1.18 trillion, 11.17 percent lower than the P1.33 trillion recorded in the same period last year.
In June, government financing was at P140.23 billion for the month, down from the previous year’s P158.95 billion. It was also lower than P251.45 billion a month earlier.
As of end-April, outstanding debt ballooned to a new record-high of P15.48 trillion due to the peso depreciation.
A total of P135.90 billion was added to the debt tally from P15.35 trillion in May, and the count was also P1.3 trillion higher than P14.15 trillion in 2023.
Of the total debt stock, 31.71 percent was borrowed abroad, while 68.29 percent was sourced domestically.
Outstanding NG debt is expected to hit P16.06 trillion this year, up from the previous projection of P15.84 trillion.
The projection for 2025 is P17.35 trillion, with domestic debt seen accounting for the bulk at P11.98 trillion. The remaining P5.38 trillion will come from external debt.
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