THE national government’s total debt hit P10.13 trillion at the end of November last year, the Bureau of Treasury said on Wednesday.
This was a P106.37 billion or 1.1 percent increase from October, most of which was due to domestic borrowing, Treasury said.
Since January 2020, the country’s debt has grown by P2.4 trillion or 31.1 percent as the government borrowed heavily to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and other socio-economic measures, the agency added.
“Of the total outstanding debt stock, 29 percent were sourced externally while 71 percent are domestic debt,” Treasury said.
Since January last year, domestic debt has increased by P2.06 trillion or 40.3 percent, while foreign debt increased by P338.44 billion or 13 percent.
Foreign debt however decreased 0.3 percent in November from the previous month as the peso appreciated against the US dollar.
The government has been borrowing heavily from both private and multilateral lenders since early last year as it tries to cushion the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country.
Despite this, some economists and business leaders say the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte has not been spending enough to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic.
The government meanwhile has said that this year’s spending package will be enough to stimulate the economy. (ABS-CBN News)
