The national government’s total outstanding debt surged to P14.35 trillion by the end of August, The Bureau of the Treasury reported.
This marked a P105.28 billion increase from the previous month’s debt level.
The primary factor contributing to this uptick was the depreciation of the Philippine peso against the US dollar, which saw the exchange rate shift from 54.834 to 56.651 over the reference period.
As of August this year, the national government’s domestic debt amounted to P9.79 trillion, reflecting a 21.2 percent decrease, or 0.2 percent, compared to the previous month. This decline was primarily due to the large retail bond maturities.
During the same month, new domestic debt issuances reached P229.29 billion, with debt redemptions totaling P253.43 billion, resulting in a net repayment of P24.14 billion.
However, this decrease was partially offset by an incremental value of P2.9 billion, a consequence of the peso’s depreciation concerning foreign currency-denominated domestic securities.
In contrast, the national government’s external debt stood at P4.56 trillion, representing a month-over-month increase of P126.52 billion, equivalent to 2.9 percent.
This was mainly attributed to the peso’s weakening performance against the US dollar.
The depreciation of the peso resulted in an upward revaluation of US dollar-denominated debt in August, amounting to P146.85 billion.
However, this was partially offset by a downward revaluation of the third-currency debt component, amounting to P22.11 billion.
Additionally, the net availment of foreign loans contributed P1.78 billion to the external debt stock for the reference month.
