PH gov't debt, repayments soar

The Philippines is facing not only a ballooning public debt but also rising repayment expenditures as a share of economic output, at a time when world trade uncertainties are putting pressure on global debt accumulation.

- BY BEN ARNOLD DE VERA

The latest Global Debt Monitor report of the Washington-based Institute of International Finance (IIF), released on May 6, showed that as of the first quarter of 2025, Philippine government debt rose to 57.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), from 56.7 percent a year ago.

The higher public debt ratio bucked the downward trend across private-sector debts in the Philippines.

IIF data showed that Filipino households' debt as a share of GDP declined to 11.4 percent as of end-March this year, from 12.4 percent a year earlier.

Non-financial corporates' debt-to-GDP ratio dropped to 25.7 percent at end-March, from 27.2 percent in the first quarter of 2024.

As for the financial sector, its debt level stayed at 7.2 percent of GDP in the first quarter of both this year and last year.