DEBTS. Each Filipino's debt increased 9.8% in 2012. Photo by AFP

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) - Each of the 94 million Filipinos owed foreign and domestic creditors P57,840 at end-2012.

This as the national government announced a P5.437 trillion outstanding debt at yearend, or below 2012's debt program of P5.52 trillion.

The yearend figure reflected a 9.8% increase from the 2011 level of P4.951 trillion.

On Wednesday, February 20, the Bureau of Treasury provided the following breakdown:

• domestic debt increased by 20.7% or P595 billion to P3.468 trillion from P2.873 in 2011
• foreign debt declined by 5.3% to P1.969 trillion from P2.078 trillion

Domestic debt comprised mostly of Treasury bills and bonds while external debt comprised mostly of sovereign bonds and direct loans availed by government agencies.

The government’s outstanding debt represents direct and assumed loans to various foreign and local lenders, incurred mainly to plug the gap between revenues raised and government spending for social services, education, public health, military, among others.

It comes from debt securities sold to local investors, foreign bonds issued by the government and direct loans availed by government agencies and relent to government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs).

Foreign debts

The government's external debts were sourced from the following:

• external debt securities at P1.214 trillion from: US dollar bonds (P1.031 trillion), Japanese Yen bonds (P56 billion), euro bonds (28 billion) and peso global bonds (P99 billion);
• direct loans availed by agencies (P864 billion)
• loans borrowed on behalf of government-owned and controlled corporations (P65 billion)

The debt stock is projected to climb to P5.91 trillion this 2013.

The Aquino administration is aiming to slash the budget deficit to P241 billion this 2013 from the emerging deficit of P235.3 billion in 2012. - Rappler.com