File photo
MANILA, Philippines — Government debt declined to P15.55 trillion by the end of August, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Tuesday.
The decrease was largely due to the revaluation effect of the peso’s appreciation and the net repayment of external debt.
The BTr showed that total state obligations declined by P139.79 billion in August, down by 0.9 percent from the previous month.
Compared with a year ago, the debt load increased by 8.4 percent, or an additional P1.2-trillion debt in August.
Of the overall debt stock, 69.40 percent are domestic securities while 30.60 percent are external obligations.
It was earlier reported that government debt hit a new record high of P15.35 trillion at the end of May, mainly due to the weakening of the local currency against the greenback.
Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data showed that total state obligations increased by P330.39 billion in May, or by 2.2 percent from the previous month. Compared with a year ago, the debt load went up by 8.4 percent, or an additional P1.193 trillion debt in May.
The BTr attributed the higher debt to “the impact of local currency depreciation on the valuation of foreign-currency denominated debt.”
The peso weakened by 94 centavos to 58.52 against the US dollar as of end-May from 57.58 seen in end-April.
Since the beginning of the year, total liabilities have increased by P731.33