The Philippine national government’s total outstanding debt climbed to ₱18.55 trillion by the end of May, marking a ₱76.11 billion increase from the previous month.
Data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) revealed that this 0.41% monthly uptick was fueled by a heavier reliance on domestic borrowing to fund government operations. However, a stronger Philippine peso helped prevent the total debt from rising even further.
Domestic obligations continued to dominate the country’s debt profile, making up 67.37% of the total, while foreign loans accounted for the remaining 32.63%.
Local debt expanded by 0.65% month-on-month to hit ₱12.50 trillion, driven by ₱80.23 billion in fresh government securities issuances. This brings the total increase in domestic debt to ₱379.26 billion since the end of December 2025, a trend that aligns with the state’s strategy of favoring local lenders to minimize foreign exchange risks.
Conversely, foreign debt saw a minor reduction of 0.07%, settling at ₱6.05 trillion by the end of May. This slight dip occurred because the strengthening of the peso against the US dollar and other major currencies shaved off ₱18.91 billion in valuation, successfully offsetting ₱14.90 billion in newly acquired foreign loans.
Despite this monthly decline, foreign debt is still up by ₱459.54 billion compared to its late 2025 level.
Meanwhile, government-guaranteed debts experienced a sharp 15.73% jump in May, reaching ₱443.50 billion. This spike was largely triggered by ₱61.62 billion in new local guarantees, pushing the total guaranteed debt 28.71% higher than it was at the close of December 2025.