THE government’s outstanding debt hit a new record high in February, the Bureau of the Treasury reported on Wednesday, driven primarily by additional domestic borrowings to fund national development projects.
At P18.16 trillion, outstanding debt grew by P1.53 trillion, or 9.19 percent, from P16.63 trillion a year earlier. It was also higher than January’s P18.13 trillion.
“This was largely driven by the continued prioritization of domestic financing to protect the government’s debt position from unfavorable external developments,” the Treasury said.
It added that despite the new record high, the national government’s (NG) debt portfolio remained “well-managed amid evolving global financial conditions.”
“In particular, with domestic debt accounting for 68.7 percent of the total, the NG maintains a prudent debt profile that minimizes vulnerability to foreign exchange fluctuations.”
Domestic debt increased to P12.48 trillion, up by 11.19 percent, from the year-earlier P11.22 trillion and the previous month’s P12.32 trillion.
“Domestic debt increased... as the government issued more securities amounting to P158.14 billion to raise funds for national development,” the Treasury said.
“Meanwhile, the impact of currency movements on foreign currency-denominated domestic securities remained minimal, reducing valuations by P3.75 billion,” it added.
External debt dropped to P5.68 trillion from January 2026’s P5.81 trillion, due to “favorable foreign exchange rate movements, which decreased the peso value of US dollar- and third currency-denominated obligations by a combined P136.43 billion.”
“These valuation gains more than offset net external loan availment amounting to P7.78 billion,” the Treasury said.
Guaranteed obligations increased by 11.4 percent to P379.98 billion from last year’s P341.11 billion and January’s P345.08 billion.
“The increase was primarily driven by new guarantees extended to the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation, which is partially offset by net repayments and favorable currency movements,” the Treasury said.