The National Government’s (NG) outstanding debt ballooned to a record P17.56 trillion at the end of July, breaching its full-year projection for 2025, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.
Latest data from the BTr showed outstanding debt surged by 11.9% from P15.69 trillion in July 2024.
This was already 1.15% higher than the P17.36-trillion projected debt by end-2025.
Despite surpassing the 2025 projection, the Treasury said the debt stock is expected to ease by yearend as the government pays off P814.2 billion in domestic bonds by December and as “fundraising activities wind down.”
Month on month, NG debt inched up by 1.7% from P17.27 trillion in June, the BTr said.
NG debt is the total amount owed by the Philippine government to creditors such as international financial institutions, development partner-countries, banks, global bondholders and other investors. — Aubrey Rose A. Inosante
