Big cuts to nat'l debt unlikely, says Treasury

An aggressive cut in the country's debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio to pre-pandemic levels is impractical given the need to sustain public investments, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

- By KEISHA TA-ASAN

In its 2023 Annual Report, the BTr said the government's medium-term fiscal framework (MTFF) would act as a roadmap for balancing debt reduction, while also maintaining fiscal space for essential public investments to support economic growth.

However, the BTr said restoring the debt-to-GDP ratio to the pre-pandemic level of 39.6 percent is "technically and politically infeasible" as this would require consistent budget surpluses.

This "would deprive the country of the needed public investments to take advantage of its demographic trends and structural reforms to improve its business climate," it said.