MANILA, Philippines- LUMOBO ang sovereign debt ng Pilipinas sa pinakabagong record high na P16 trillion sa pagtatapos ng September 2024.
Ito’y sa gitna ng patuloy na fundraising initiatives ng bansa para ipangdagdag sa budgetary requirements.
Makikita sa data na ipinalabas ng Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) na ang outstanding debt ng national government ay P15.893 trillion sa naturang panahon, tumaas ng 2.2% mula P15.55 trillion sa pagtatapos ng August 2024.
“Year-on-year, the country’s running sovereign debt pile grew by 11.4% from P14.268 trillion recorded as of end-September 2023,” ayon sa BTr.
Sa kabila ng pagtaas ng debt level, sinabi ng BTr na ang pinakabagong debt figures ay “manageable.”
Sa katunayan, sa unang kalahati ng taong 2024, ang debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio ay 60.9%, ilang porsiyento lang ang lamang sa internationally accepted comfortable threshold na 60%.
“Debt-to-GDP ratio measures the amount of the national government’s outstanding debt proportionate to the value of the economy during a specific period,” ayon pa rin sa BTr.
Para ngayong taon, target ng administrasyong Marcos na tama an ang debt-to-GDP ratio na 60.6%.
Samantala, mayorya o 68.81%, ng pagtatapos ng September 2024 debt level ay mula sa domestic market habang ang external risk exposure ay 31.19%.
“In particular, domestic debt reached P10.94 trillion, up 1.3% month-on-month, “mainly driven by P145.11 billion net issuance of new government securities, which was slightly offset by a P460 million decrease in the value of US dollar-denominated securities due to the appreciation of the Philippine peso.”ayon sa ulat.
Ang External debt ay umabot sa P4.96 trillion, tumaas ng 4.2% mula sa naunang buwan.
“The growth in the country’s foreign debt was driven by the “P200.89 billion in net foreign borrowings, including P140.99 billion ($2.5 billion) in new US dollar bonds floatation to support general budgetary requirements.”ang sinabi ng BTr.
“Nevertheless, favorable foreign exchange adjustments contributed a substantial decrease of P2.43 billion in the overall external debt,” ang winika pa rin ng Treasury.
Nauna nang sinabi ni Finance Secretary Ralph Recto na ang sovereign debt ng bansa ay maaaring lumobo sa P20 trillion sa pagtatapos ng termino ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sa 2028. Kris Jose