THE government plans to ramp up domestic borrowings in the third quarter (Q3), with the Bureau of the Treasury on Tuesday saying that it was looking to raise P1.12 trillion from T-bill and T-bond offerings.
The amount is higher than the P784 billion for April-June, and Philippine Institute for Development Studies senior fellow John Paolo Rivera said this reflected a preference to rely more on domestic financing amid global uncertainty, peso volatility and higher external borrowing costs.
“[It] may also signal expectations of stronger spending in the second half of the year, particularly for infrastructure and delayed projects,” he added.
The increase, Rivera said, is “not necessarily concerning as long as borrowings are matched by efficient budget execution and productive spending.”
The bulk of the borrowings will come in the form of short-term debt, with the government set to auction off P700 billion in T-bills with tenors of 91, 182 and 364 days.
The remaining P420 billion, meanwhile, will be raised via T-bonds ranging from three to 20 years.
The government plans to borrow P2.68 trillion this year to finance its programs and projects.
Most will come from the domestic debt market at P2.05 trillion, down from the P2.11 trillion programmed last year. Of the total, P1.99 trillion will be borrowed via fixed-rate T-bonds and P60 billion will come from T-bills.
The remaining P627.1 billion will come from external borrowings, up from 2025’s P488.17 billion. This includes program loans (P263.3 billion), project loans (P61.7 billion), and bonds and other inflows (P302.1 billion).
