Nat'l debt surpasses P16-T mark in October

New record high

- By KEISHA TA-ASAN

Latest data from the Treasury showed that the national debt settled at P16.02 trillion as of end-October, the highest level to date. This is also 10.6 percent higher than last year's P14.48 trillion debt.

For October alone, the government added a total of P126.95 billion to the debt pile due to the valuation impact of the peso's depreciation against the dollar. Based on Treasury data, the peso weakened to 58.198 at end-October from 56.017 at end-September.

As of February, the outstanding debt was already 99.8 percent of the 2024 debt expectation of P16.06 trillion.

The Treasury said domestic borrowings accounted for the bulk or almost 67.98 percent of the debt pile, while the remaining 32.02 percent came from external sources.