THE NATIONAL Government’s (NG) gross borrowings declined in October amid a drop in foreign debt, the Bureau of the Treasury said.
Data from the Treasury showed that total gross borrowings fell by 32.07% to P87.81 billion in October from P129.26 billion in the identical month a yr ago.
Month on month, gross borrowings slid by 31.89% from P128.91 billion in September.
Domestic borrowings, which made up the majority or 83.19% of the entire borrowings, rose by 8.28% to P73.05 billion in October from P67.46 billion in the identical month last yr.
This was composed of P70 billion in fixed-rate Treasury bonds (T-bonds) and P3.05 billion in Treasury bills (T-bills). There have been no fixed-rate Treasury notes and retail Treasury bonds for the month.
However, external borrowings slumped by 76.12% to P14.76 billion from P61.8 billion in the identical month in 2024. That is comprised of project loans.
“(The lower gross borrowings) is consistent with the larger budget surplus in October 2025 versus a yr ago that fundamentally reduced the necessity for more NG borrowings,” Rizal Business Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message over the weekend.
In October, the NG fiscal position stood at a P11.2-billion surplus as revenues and expenditures declined amid a corruption scandal. This brought the budget deficit to P1.11 trillion within the 10-month period.
This was the primary budget surplus since April and a turnaround from the P248.08-billion deficit in September.
Despite the decline in October borrowings, the NG’s gross borrowings inched up by 2.19% to P2.48 trillion in the primary 10 months of the yr from P2.43 trillion a yr ago.
The ten-month tally made up 95.5% of the revised P2.6-trillion financing program for 2025.
As of end-October, domestic borrowings made up 81.9% of the entire.
Domestic debt went up by 9.13% to P2.03 trillion within the period ending October from P1.86 trillion a yr ago. This accounted for 96.29% of the P2.11-trillion domestic borrowing program for this yr.
Domestic debt was composed of P1.12 trillion in fixed-rate Treasury bonds, P425.61 billion in retail Treasury bonds, P300 billion in fixed-rate Treasury notes, and P184.2 billion in T-bills.
Meanwhile, gross external debt declined by 20.64% to P449.35 billion as of end-October from P566.25 billion a yr ago. This accounted for 92.05% of the P488.174-billion external borrowing program this yr.
Broken down, foreign debt was composed of P191.97 billion in global bonds, P172.01 billion in program loans, and P85.38 billion in project loans.
The top‑October external debt reflected the $3.3-billion global bond issuance accomplished in late January and settled in February.
In the approaching months, Mr. Ricafort said that the lower amount of maturing government securities within the fourth quarter could reduce the necessity for extra borrowings.
“Going forward, anti-corruption measures/reforms and other priority governance reforms would help narrow budget deficits and likewise fundamentally reduce the necessity for extra NG borrowings,” he said.
Mr. Ricafort also noted that rate cuts by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and US Federal Reserve will help reduce interest payments.
As of Nov. 24, Finance Secretary Frederick D. Go said the federal government had raised P2.08 trillion through a mix of normal Treasury bills and Treasury bond auctions and special issuances. The federal government had set a P2.11-trillion domestic issuance program for 2025.
Meanwhile, National Treasurer Sharon P. Almanza said the weaker peso will affect the revaluation of foreign currency-denominated debt.
She said the peso, which hit an all-time low on Nov. 12, may hurt the NG’s efforts in bringing down the NG outstanding debt to P17.36 trillion by yearend, because the forecast had assumed a lower foreign exchange rate.
NG outstanding debt slipped by 0.07% to P17.46 trillion at the tip of September from P17.47 trillion at end-August.
Nonetheless, this was still 0.6% above the projected year-end debt level of P17.36 trillion. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante