GROSS BORROWING dropped by 43.38% year on year at the end of May, as the National Government (NG) stepped up debt repayments.
According to preliminary data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), gross borrowing was P883.11 billion in the year to date.
In May, the government’s debt position was a net redemption of P282.58 billion, with repayments outweighing new borrowing.
Domestic net redemptions were at P270.68 billion, against P104.4 billion a year earlier.
At the end of May, the NG’s outstanding debt also declined 2.1% month on month to P12.5 trillion, after it repaid advances made by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The record high for NG outstanding debt was P12.76 trillion at the end of April.
The May position on Treasury bills was a net issuance of P85.89 billion.
Fixed-rate Treasury bonds (T-bonds), meanwhile raised P115.21 billion.
Foreign gross borrowing rose 50.33% to P11.71 billion in May, consisting entirely of project loans accounting for all of it.
The government repaid P23.61 billion to foreign creditors in May.
In the year to date, gross domestic borrowing fell 57.37% year on year to P644.82 billion.
The government generated P457.8 billion from Retail Treasury bonds, and P446.45 billion from fixed-rate T-bonds.
Gross external borrowing rose 10.50% year on year to P279.61 billion in the five months.
The government borrows from domestic and foreign sources in order to fund a budget deficit that has since grown due to the need to finance the country’s pandemic response.
The government wants to raise P2.47 trillion to help fund its budget deficit this year, with about 77% coming from domestic sources. — Diego Gabriel C. Robles