GOVERNMENT borrowing was P108.87 billion in February, down 17.67% year on year, after the reduced issue of Treasury bonds (T-bonds) and a net repayment of Treasury bills (T-bills), the Bureau of the Treasury said.
Compared with January, however, borrowing was sharply higher compared with the P47.66 billion in the first month of the year.
The decline in overall borrowing was due to P1.47 billion worth of net redemptions of debt owed to domestic creditors, reversing the P31.66 billion in net borrowing from a year earlier.
This was mainly due to the P10.32 billion in net repayments of T-bills from a P1.66 billion net borrowing position a year earlier, and supported by lower issues of T-bonds worth P8.85 billion, down from P30 billion a year earlier.
Foreign borrowing grew 9.71% to P110.34 billion.
Project and program loans from overseas amounted to P1.33 billion and P6.33 billion in February, while the global bonds exchange yielded P102.68 billion.
This compares to the year-earlier totals of P1 billion for project loans, zero for program loans, and P99.57 billion for global bonds exchange.
In the first two months, borrowing was P156.53 billion, down 8.89% from a year earlier.
Borrowing in the first two months is equivalent to 17.62% of the P888.23 billion the government expects to borrow this year.
Borrowed funds help pay for government projects and maturing debt, among others. The government plans to drastically raise spending, particularly on infrastructure. The budget deficit is pegged at 3% of gross domestic product (GDP).
This year, the government has adopted a 74-26% financing mix in favor of local sources at P711.96 billion, with a P176.27-billion projection for gross foreign borrowing. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
