The country’s outstanding loan has reached a record high of PHP11.92 trillion last September amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The treasury data showed that PHP11.91 trillion during the month, increasing by 27.2% annually.
This figure likewise surpassed the previous PHP11.64-trillion high last August. The treasury said that this was due to net issuance of both domestic and external debt and peso depreciation against the US Dollar.
Domestic loans, on the other hand, reached PHP8.37 trillion.
“For September, the increment in external debt was due to the net availment of foreign loans amounting to PHP43.99 billion and the effect of local currency depreciation against the US Dollar amounting to PHP76.82 billion,” the Treasury said.
“However, local-currency depreciation against the US dollar increased the value of external guarantees by PHP4.47 billion, offsetting repayments and third-currency depreciation which trimmed PHP1.27 billion,” it added.
Economists warned that the country’s debt could balloon further due to COVID-19 restrictions.
