Record PH debt poses repayment pressures

The national government’s debt soared to a new record high of P16.63 trillion at the end of the first two months of 2024, putting pressure on its capability to repay obligations.

- By BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

The latest Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data released on Tuesday, April 1, showed that outstanding obligations as of end-February inched up by almost two percent month-on-month and climbed 9.6 percent year-on-year.

In a statement, the BTr said that the public debt level was still “manageable,” and attributed the “measured” month-on-month hike to net issuance of fresh locally and externally sourced borrowings to bankroll government programs and projects.

Domestic obligations, which comprised over two-thirds of the debt pile, rose 1.7 percent month-on-month and 6.4 percent year-on-year to P11.21 trillion.

The BTr explained that it raised a net of P149.7 billion from treasury bills and bonds snapped up by local creditors during the first two months, as P127.5-billion worth of matured debt paper offset gross issuances of government securities (GS) amounting to P268.3 billion.