The Philippines’ outstanding debt slightly dropped towards the end of 2020 after the government settled more of its domestic loans.
Total government loans stood at P9.795 trillion, 3.3% less than the P10.13 trillion logged in November, said the Treasury Bureau on Tuesday. However, it was 26.7% more than the debt stock in 2019, with the increase brought about by the funding demands of the pandemic.
The end-December’s figure was close to the projected P10.16 trillion total outstanding debt by the end of 2020 earlier posted by the data of the Budget Department.
According to the bureau, debts to local sources amounted to P6.694 trillion at the end of 2020, 6.9% less than the level in November “primarily due to the repayment of the ₱540 billion provisional advances from BSP.”
The government’s request for a short-term loan of P540 billion to support its funding needs as the country’s budget deficit continued to balloon due to spendings incurred to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, was earlier approved by the central bank.
