PH Reaches P12.6 Trillion Debt as of March 2022: Bureau of Treasury

The Philippines has now amassed a total of P12.6 trillion debt as of March 2022, higher than the total of P12.09 trillion debt recorded last February, according to the Bureau of Treasury last Thursday. The agency states that 69.9% of the total debt was from domestic debts, while the remaining 30.1% came from external sources.

External debt reached P3.81 trillion in March, 3.6% higher than the previous month’s number. Meanwhile, domestic debt was 5.6% higher than February’s, hitting a total of P8.87 trillion. According to the Malacañang, the borrowings “shall be put into good use and utilized effectively and efficiently.” Since the second half of 2016, under the current administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, the country’s debt has more than doubled from P5.95 trillion last June 2016. The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio also rose to 60.5% in 2021 compared to 39.6% pre-pandemic.

RCBC’s chief economist Michael Ricafort says that the government’s current debts could still further increase in the coming months in view of more government borrowings. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s infrastructure programs, the Philippines has been borrowing heavily, but economic managers have said that the country’s current debt levels are still manageable. Ricafort also says the weak peso-dollar exchange rate– the weakest since August 2019 may have also played a factor in increasing the peso equivalent of the government’s debts.

“Recent borrowings would be for our COVID-19 response and recovery and resiliency efforts. We need to sustain our country’s long-term socio-economic growth and development,” says the Presidential Communications secretary and acting presidential spokesperson.

In order to help narrow the Philippines’ budget deficit and temper the rise of the government’s debt, Ricafort suggests reopening the economy towards greater normalcy.

Source: ABS CBN News