THE NATIONAL Government’s (NG) gross borrowings declined in October amid a drop in foreign debt, the Bureau of the Treasury said.
Data from the Treasury showed that total gross borrowings fell by 32.07% to P87.81 billion in October from P129.26 billion in the same month a year ago.
Month on month, gross borrowings slid by 31.89% from P128.91 billion in September.
Domestic borrowings, which made up the bulk or 83.19% of the total borrowings, rose by 8.28% to P73.05 billion in October from P67.46 billion in the same month last year.
This was composed of P70 billion in fixed-rate Treasury bonds (T-bonds) and P3.05 billion in Treasury bills (T-bills). There were no fixed-rate Treasury notes and retail Treasury bonds for the month.
On the other hand, external borrowings slumped by 76.12% to P14.76 billion from P61.8 billion in the same month in 2024. This is comprised of project loans.
“(The lower gross borrowings) is consistent with the bigger budget surplus in October 2025 versus a year ago that fundamentally reduced the need for more NG borrowings,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message over the weekend.
In October, the NG fiscal position stood at a P11.2-billion surplus as revenues and expenditures declined amid a corruption scandal. This brought the budget deficit to P1.11 trillion in the 10-month period.
This was the first budget surplus since April and a turnaround from the P248.08-billion deficit in September.
Despite the decline in October borrowings, the NG’s gross borrowings inched up by 2.19% to P2.48 trillion in the first 10 months of the year from P2.43 trillion a year ago.
The 10-month tally made up 95.5% of the revised P2.6-trillion financing program for 2025.
As of end-October, domestic borrowings made up 81.9% of the total.
Domestic debt went up by 9.13% to P2.03 trillion in the period ending October from P1.86 trillion a year ago. This accounted for 96.29% of the P2.11-trillion domestic borrowing program for this year.
Domestic debt was composed of P1.12 trillion in fixed-rate Treasury bonds, P425.61 billion in retail Treasury bonds, P300 billion in fixed-rate Treasury notes, and P184.2 billion in T-bills.
Meanwhile, gross external debt declined by 20.64% to P449.35 billion as of end-October from P566.25 billion a year ago. This accounted for 92.05% of the P488.174-billion external borrowing program this year.
Broken down, foreign debt was composed of P191.97 billion in global bonds, P172.01 billion in program loans, and P85.38 billion in project loans.
The end‑October external debt reflected the $3.3-billion global bond issuance completed in late January and settled in February.
In the coming months, Mr. Ricafort said that the lower amount of maturing government securities in the fourth quarter could reduce the need for additional borrowings.
“Going forward, anti-corruption measures/reforms and other priority governance reforms would help narrow budget deficits and also fundamentally reduce the need for additional NG borrowings,” he said.
Mr. Ricafort also noted that rate cuts by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and US Federal Reserve will help reduce interest payments.
As of Nov. 24, Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go said the government had raised P2.08 trillion through a combination of regular Treasury bills and Treasury bond auctions and special issuances. The government had set a P2.11-trillion domestic issuance program for 2025.
Meanwhile, National Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza said the weaker peso will affect the revaluation of foreign currency-denominated debt.
She said the peso, which hit an all-time low on Nov. 12, may hurt the NG’s efforts in bringing down the NG outstanding debt to P17.36 trillion by yearend, as the forecast had assumed a lower foreign exchange rate.
NG outstanding debt slipped by 0.07% to P17.46 trillion at the end of September from P17.47 trillion at end-August.
However, this was still 0.6% above the projected year-end debt level of P17.36 trillion. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
