THE National Government’s outstanding debt rose by 5.2% from a month earlier to P8.165 trillion as of end-February due to bigger sales of both foreign and local bonds, according to the Treasury bureau.

The total debt stock increased 9.6% from a year earlier, it said in a statement on Friday.

Domestic debt accounted for 66.7% of the total at P5.449 trillion, while the rest or P2.715 trillion was obtained from external creditors, the bureau said. Domestic debt rose by 6.4% from a month earlier and by 11.3% year on year, it added.

The Treasury bureau traced the increase to the net issuance of government securities worth P326.06 billion, the bulk of which was in the form of retail Treasury bonds worth P310.8 billion sold in February.

External debt rose by 2.9% from a month earlier to P2.715 trillion as of end-February, and by 6.4% from a year earlier.

Additional foreign loans that month added P70.9 billion to the outstanding debt stock, including 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) worth of three- and nine-year euro-denominated global bonds sold.

Availment of the World Bank’s $100- million International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) program loan also added to the stock, the Treasury bureau said.

“For February, external debt grew due to the effect of currency fluctuations on both dollar- and third currency-denominated debt amounting to P2.18 billion and P3.8 billion, respectively,” the agency said. — Beatrice M. Laforga

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