THE national government’s gross borrowings markedly rose in February, driven almost entirely by a surge in domestic debt issuances that offset a steep drop in external financing, latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed.
Gross borrowings reached P478.8 billion, a 17.3-percent increase from P408.2 billion in January and up 41.0 percent from P339.6 billion in February 2025.
Local debt accounted for the bulk at P468.2 billion, more than doubling from P216.1 billion in January and rising 232.6 percent from P140.8 billion a year earlier.
Most domestic financing came from fixed-rate Treasury bonds, which amounted to P412.9 billion. Treasury bills contributed P55.3 billion on a net basis.
In contrast, external borrowings plunged to P10.5 billion in February, down 94.5 percent from P192.1 billion a month earlier and 94.7 percent from P198.8 billion in February 2025.
External financing consisted mainly of project loans worth P8.0 billion and program loans amounting to P2.5 billion.
To date, total gross borrowings reached P887.0 billion, significantly higher than P552.7 billion recorded in the same period in 2025.
External borrowings for the first two months of 2026 amounted to P202.7 billion, down by 21.9 percent from P259.7 billion in the same period last year. In contrast, domestic borrowings (gross) surged to P684.3 billion, up by 133.5 percent from P293.0 billion in January to February 2025.
Last year, the government’s gross borrowings rose to P2.653 trillion, from P2.565 trillion a year earlier, and were also higher than the P2.6-trillion financing requirement for the year.
The government is planning to borrow P2.68 trillion in 2026 to finance its programs and projects, slightly up from the P2.6 trillion last year. Most will come from domestic sources at P2.05 trillion, lower than the P2.11 trillion programmed for 2025.
The remaining P627.1 billion will come from external sources, up from 2025’s P488.17 billion, via program loans (P263.3 billion), project loans (P61.7 billion) and bonds and other inflows (P302.1 billion).
