NG gross borrowings surge to nearly P400B

By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Senior Reporter

THE National Government’s (NG) gross borrowings ballooned to almost P400 billion in January as external debt more than tripled, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.

Data from the BTr showed that the total gross borrowings surged by 88.7% to P398.38 billion in the first month of 2026 from P211.07 billion a year prior.

Domestic debt accounted for 52.2% of the total gross borrowings for the month.

In January, gross domestic borrowings stood at P208 billion, up 36.9% from P151.88 billion in the same month in 2025.

This consisted of fixed-rate Treasury bonds amounting to P176.6 billion and Treasury bills worth P39.5 billion.

On the other hand, gross external debt surged by 221.7% to P190.38 billion in January from P59.18 billion in the same month last year.

The surge is due to the P161.29 billion raised from multi-tranche global bonds during the month.

The $2.75-billion triple-tranche dollar bond issuance was the Philippine government’s largest US dollar deal in over three years. The government raised $500 million from 5.5-year bonds, $1.5 billion from 10-year papers, and $750 million from 25-year papers.

Other sources of external debt included P26.39 billion in program loans and P4.46 billion in project loans.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort attributed the higher borrowings in January to “some frontloading of both foreign and local borrowings as well as the new record-high US dollar/peso that led to a higher peso equivalent of foreign debts.”

As of end-January, the peso depreciated by P0.07 to close at P58.86 from its P58.79 finish on Dec. 29.

This month, the local currency hit a new record low, weakening by 14 centavos to close at P60.69 on Tuesday from its P60.55 finish on Monday.

Philippine Institute for Development Studies Senior Research Fellow John Paolo R. Rivera said the government had frontloaded its borrowings amid global uncertainty.

In a Viber message, he said this was a strategy to “lock in financing before borrowing costs potentially rise further.”

He noted external borrowings may account for a bigger chunk of the borrowings “if the government sees favorable windows in global markets.”

However, Mr. Rivera said the Philippines is still likely to prioritize domestic borrowings “to limit foreign exchange rate risks and maintain debt sustainability.”

For 2026, the government set the financing program at P2.682 trillion, where 76.6% will come from local lenders and the rest will be sourced from foreign sources.

Mr. Ricafort said the National Government’s catch-up spending program may “lead to a wider budget deficit that, in turn, would require more NG borrowings.”