Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 29) — The national government broke the sustained monthly rise in unpaid debt in September, with the tally dipping 2.6% after settling a balance.
The Bureau of the Treasury said Thursday that outstanding public debt was at ₱9.37 trillion for the month, down by ₱246.2 billion from the August tally.
The bulk of the loans were sourced locally, with the government’s unpaid loans to domestic lenders at ₱6.44 trillion. The amount is 4.1% lower from August.
This reflected the payment of the state’s short-term debt from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas worth ₱300 billion, representing a cash advance of sorts as the government struggled to finance emergency COVID-19 response measures when the pandemic broke out in March.
That repurchase deal was initially due in June but was given a three-month extension. The Treasury later secured a bigger ₱540 billion advance credit from the central bank dated September 29, but it is unclear if the amount was disbursed right away. The loan is due on December 29, 2020.
However, the domestic loans tally rose by ₱1.18 trillion from September 2019’s haul, mainly due to a surge in the issuance of Treasury bonds and bills meant to shore up cash amid the pandemic. The country has been relying more on loans to finance its recovery program as tax collections have slumped with limited business and economic activity.
On the other hand, 31% or ₱2.93 trillion of the unsettled accounts were borrowed from abroad. This rose by ₱28.49 billion from the August amount and surged by ₱280.57 billion from a year ago.
“For September, the increment to the external debt portfolio was attributed to the ₱33.22 billion net availment of external loans,” the Treasury said.
A stronger peso against the US dollar –– which traded at the ₱48 level during the month –– helped trim the balance, shaving off nearly ₱5 billion from the total.
The higher dues to foreigners was the result of bigger project loans as well as proceeds of offshore bond floats.
Meanwhile, guaranteed payments declined to ₱445.4 billion.
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