SUMMARY
This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines – In keeping with the strategy to borrow more from domestic sources instead of foreign ones, bulk of the government’s total outstanding debt as of end-February are owed to domestic creditors.
On Wednesday, May 9, the Bureau of Treasury reported that its P4.912 trillion total national debt as of end-February was sourced from the ff:
- Domestic debt: P2.826 trillion, or 57.54% of total
- Foreign debt: P2.086 trillion, or 42.46%
Fiscal authorities have been turning to the domestic market to reduce exchange risks in foreign-denominated debts.
Total debt increased 5.5%, or P257 billion higher than the P4.655 trillion incurred the same period last year.
Domestic debt rose 6%, or an increase of P162 billion from the P2.664 trillion recorded a year ago.
Foreign debt also increased but by a slower pace at 4.7%. It was P1.991 trillion a year ago.
However, on a month on month basis, the government’s February declined by 1.6% compared with the P4.993 trillion in January.
The Treasury attributed this to higher loan payments and a stronger peso against the dollar.
Meanwhile, the government’s contingent debt — composed mainly of guarantees issued by the national government — dropped to P554.66 billion as of end-February from the end-January 2012 level of P569 billion.
The Aquino administration hopes to hit roughly P280 billion or 2.6% of GDP from the actual P197.8 billion or 2% of GDP recorded in 2011. – Rappler.com, with research from Kenneth Cabusay
Add a comment
How does this make you feel?
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.