Metro Manila, Philippines – The national government debt rose to ₱16.09 trillion as of November 2024, the Bureau of the Treasury reported on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
This marks an increase of ₱70.70 billion, or 0.4%, compared to the total outstanding debt in October 2024.
The Bureau attributed the rise to net financing and the depreciation of the peso.
The peso weakened against the US dollar, sliding from ₱58.198 at the end of October 2024 to ₱58.602 a month later.
Domestic securities make up the majority of the total debt stock at 67.87%, while external obligations accounted for 32.13%.
Domestic debt climbed to ₱10.92 trillion, an increase of ₱31.82 billion, or 0.3%, from the previous month.
“The increment resulted from the ₱30.67 billion net issuance of domestic securities and ₱1.15 billion effect of peso depreciation on US dollar-denominated domestic debt,” the BTr said.
It added that external debt reached ₱5.17 trillion in November, marking a ₱38.88-billion, or 0.8%, increase from October.
The peso’s depreciation added ₱35.61 billion to the value of US dollar-denominated debt, while new foreign loans increased the debt by ₱8.33 billion. However, favorable currency movements against the US dollar reduced the debt by ₱5.06 billion, the BTr explained.
Overall, national debt grew by 12.4% since December 2023.
