NG debt posts another record: ₧10.3T in Jan By Bernadette D. Nicolas
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HE national government’s total outstanding debt in January has hit a new record high at P10.327 trillion as the government looked for more funds to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon confirmed to the BusinessMirror that the outstanding debt figure recorded as of end-January was a record high in terms of nominal amount. This figure was also even higher compared to the P10.13-trillion outstanding debt logged by the country in November last year. According to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr), the January figure was up 5.4 percent from end-2020 level of P9.795 trillion, “predominantly due to the reavailment of the P540-billion short-term
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loan facility from the BSP [Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas].” It was also a 33-percent jump from P7.76 trillion recorded in January 2020. Of the total debt stock, 71 percent was sourced locally, while 29 percent came from foreign sources. The government’s domestic debt reached P7.3 trillion, 9.4 percent above the end-2020 level of P6.69 trillion. The domestic debt as of end-January also surged by 43 percent from only P5.12 trillion recorded a year ago. On the other hand, external debt in January slid by 3.2 percent to P3 trillion from P3.1 trillion posted in end-December. However, this was a 13.7-percent hike from P2.6 trillion in January 2020. “The lower external debt figure was caused by the net repayment of foreign loans amounting to P93.49 billion and the P8.47 billion effect of third currency depre-
ciation against the dollar. These more than offset the P3.55-billion effect of local currency depreciation on dollar-denominated loans for the period,” the BTr said.
Guaranteed debt MEANWHILE, total outstanding guaranteed debt of the national government slightly declined by 0.4 percent to P456.39 billion in January from P458.35 billion in end-December last year. It was also 6.5 percent lower than the January 2020 level of P488.29 billion. Domestic outstanding guaranteed debt amounted to P254.1 billion, a slight contraction of 0.1 percent from the December 2020 level of P254.42 billion. This was also a 2.4-percent drop from P260.3 billion in January 2020. The government’s external outstanding guaranteed debt also settled to P202.28 billion, dipping by 0.8 percent
from P203.93 billion in December last year. This figure is also an 11.3-percent reduction from P227.99 billion in January 2020. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III said earlier they expect the national government’s debt this year to reach 57 percent of GDP as the country aims to borrow a total of P3.03 trillion, roughly the same amount it borrowed in 2020. The government has since ramped up its borrowing plan to finance the expected higher budget deficit and to boost its war chest against the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020 the government posted a record-high full-year outstanding debt of P9.795 trillion and a 14-year-high debtto-GDP ratio of P54.5 percent. This came a year after the country recorded an outstanding debt level of P7.73 trillion as it snatched a historic low debt-to-GDP ratio of 39.6 percent.
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Wednesday, March 3, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 143
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FURTHER IN JANUARY EMPLOYERS TO GOVT: HELP MSME SOURCE JABS FOR WORKERS By Elijah Felice Rosales
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A CUSTOMER awaits a teller inside a pawnshop in Cainta, Rizal, on Tuesday (March 3, 2021). Most Filipinos received their ayuda (pandemic-related government aid) through money exchange/ remittance centers and pawnshops during last year’s lockdowns. Many others continue to provide brisk business to pawnshops, as they pawn whatever items of value they have, in a desperate bid to survive as businesses are still recovering and shedding jobs. BERNARD TESTA
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By Bianca Cuaresma
OCAL banks’ risk aversion continued to show despite all-time low policy rates from the Central Bank as bank lending registered a bigger contraction in January.
Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released Tuesday afternoon showed bank lending contracted by 2.4 percent in January. “In general, credit activity remained soft due to weak demand as banks continued to be riskaverse on concerns over asset quality and profitability,” the BSP said.
Bank lending first collapsed into contraction territory in December by 0.7 percent. This was the system’s first lending decline in 14 years. January was the tenth consecutive month that bank lending slowed despite the aggressive efforts of the BSP to lower interest See “Bank,” A2
‘Rate hike delay to cut PhilHealth fund life by 6 mos’ By Bernadette D. Nicolas
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TATE-RUN Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s (PhilHealth) fund life is seen to shorten by six months from August 2028 to February 2028 due to the proposed deferment of the premium hike and the expected reduc-
tion in the number of payors amid the Covid-19 pandemic. At Tuesday’s Senate committee hearing on bills granting the President the power to suspend increases in PhilHealth contribution, National Treasurer Rosalia V. De Leon said PhilHealth is projected to book a net loss of P17.5 billion
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 48.6010
this year with the deferment in the premium rate increase and the decline in the number of payors. “This is expected to be covered by the institution’s reserve fund, which will reduce the said fund from P160.6 billion to P143.5 billion. The implication is that it will shorten the fund life of PhilHealth
MPLOYERS have asked the government to relax the rules for vaccine purchase, as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are finding it difficult to buy doses for their workers. Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis Jr., president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (Ecop), urged the government to facilitate the orders of vaccines placed by MSMEs. He said MSMEs are now burdened not only by the cost of vaccines, but also by the procurement process. “Anything that the private sector buys, the government saves money, especially in vaccines. It’s less expenses on the part of the government. I hope the government makes it easy for MSMEs to procure the doses,” Ortiz-Luis told the BusinessMirror. Ortiz-Luis also questioned the findings of a survey that said two-thirds of firms in the Philippines are now arranging the purchase of vaccines on their employees’ behalf. Based on reports filed by MSMEs with Ecop, they are finding it difficult to source the money for vaccine importation on financial losses suffered in the Covid-19 lockdowns.
by six months from August 2028 to February 2028,” said De Leon, a representative/alternate of PhilHealth’s board of directors exofficio member Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III. De Leon also said PhilHealth’s total liabilities, including its contin-
“More than 90 percent of enterprises in the Philippines are micro, and they are the ones who got it worst during the pandemic,” Ortiz-Luis said. He confirmed some corporations based in the business district Makati City are assisting MSMEs obtain vaccine shots. However, he admitted the private sector can only do so much, and it falls under the government’s responsibilities to supply them with vaccines. See “Jabs,” A2
See “PhilHealth,” A2
n JAPAN 0.4553 n UK 67.6818 n HK 6.2661 n CHINA 7.5149 n SINGAPORE 36.6082 n AUSTRALIA 37.7581 n EU 58.5691 n SAUDI ARABIA 12.9596
Source: BSP (March 2, 2021)