NG gross borrowings hit ₧2.27T in July G ROSS borrowings by the national government hit P2.27 trillion as of July this year, surging by over a fifth from a year ago as the state needed more money to finance higher spending requirements amid the pandemic. The government’s gross borrowings soared by 22.24 percent from P1.86 trillion in January to July last year, based on Bureau of the Treasury data. Gross domestic borrowings in the same period ballooned to P1.83 trillion, jumping by 32.9 percent from last year’s P1.38 trillion. On the other hand, the government relied less on foreign sources as its gross external borrowings fell by 8.2 percent to P441.74 billion from P481.15 billion as of end-July last year.
Meanwhile, gross borrowings for the month of July more than doubled to P337.15 billion from last year’s P134.53 billion. During the period, the government borrowed more from both domestic and foreign sources at P180.36 billion and P156.79 billion, respectively. In July last year, government’s gross domestic borrowings stood at P66.84 billion while its gross foreign borrowings reached P67.7 billion. The bulk of the gross domestic borrowings in July this year came from Fixed Rate Treasury Bonds at P208.86 billion. However, this was offset by the net issuance of Treasury Bills at P28.5 billion, which meant that there were more debt repayments than the issuance of the debt papers
during the month. Most of the gross foreign borrowings in July were raised through the sale of global bonds at P146.17 billion. Meanwhile, the remaining P10.6 billion came from a project loan. As of end-July, the national government’s outstanding debt has reached a new high of P11.61 trillion, soaring by 26.7 percent from P9.16 trillion a year ago. The national government expects its outstanding debt this year to balloon to P11.73 trillion, up by 19.8 percent from P9.795 trillion in 2020. This is also projected to further swell in 2022 to P13.42 trillion. For this year, the national government has set a P3.1-trillion borrowing program, of which around 75 percent is expected to be raised
Monday, September 6, 2021 Vol. 16 No. 27
through domestic sources. The country’s debt-to-GDP ratio already stood at 60.4 percent as of end-June this year. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III earlier said the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to rise to 59.1 percent this year and peak next year at 60.8 percent— slightly above the internationally accepted threshold—before gradually tapering off to 60.7 percent and 59.7 percent in 2023 and 2024. The Department of Finance sees the national government returning to its pre-pandemic debt and budget deficit levels as early as 2024 or by 2025 if the recommended fiscal measures are passed early by the next administration and if the economy quickly recovers. Bernadette D. Nicolas
‘SIN‘ TAX TAKE UP TO P173B
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P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 20 pages |
ON EASED LOCKDOWNS ‘ADOPT GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN STANDARDS TO MEET PRODUCT SAFETY’ By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad
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FIRE volunteers of Pasay City spray water with bleach/chlorine on Maricaban Street as part of the sanitation efforts to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. The Philippines on Sunday logged, for the third day, fresh infections at over 20,000 cases. NONIE REYES
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By Bernadette D. Nicolas
@BNicolasBM
HE government’s excise tax collection on “sin” products climbed to P173.1 billion as of end-July as lockdown restrictions were eased compared to a year ago. Latest preliminary data obt a i ne d b y B us i n e s sM i r ror showed that the sin tax collection of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs
from January to July this year posted a double-digit growth of 25.5 percent from P138 billion in the same period in 2020. Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 50.0120
HE government should adopt global standards for supply chain management to ensure product safety and traceability and to facilitate digitalization, the business sector said. Philippine Exporters Confederation, Inc. (Philexport) President Sergio Ortiz-Luis Jr. said in a recent statement that the government should “seriously consider globally accepted standards to develop not only trust in cross-border and domestic trade but also ensure consumer safety and protection.” Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization, Inc. P resident Rober to C . Amores, who is also Philex-
port trustee for food sector, stressed that global standard compliance is necessary for agriculture and food production, especially amid the challenges brought about by the pandemic. “ The Covid-19 pandemic halted further the growth and development which we would like to see in the food and agriculture sector,” he said. “For us to reach full throttle in agriculture, one very significant component is food and agriculture safety that can be met consistently through standards and traceability.” Amores said that “food security and self-sufficiency may not come to fruition for us” if there is no “form of standard or criteria in the food supply chain.” Continued on A2
IATF finalizing rules for granular lockdowns By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad @Tyronepiad
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HE Covid-19 Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) is finalizing the guidelines for the proposed granular lockdowns, which seek to allow more mobility while isolating heavily infected areas. Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez told reporters over the weekend that the IATF has agreed to launch a pilot test of granular lockdowns in Metro Manila beginning September 8, a day after the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ)
“[The] lockdown will be limited to a few and small hotspot areas and this will allow some more jobs to be back, those outside the small hotspot areas.”—Lopez
restriction is lifted in the region. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) chief said that the next phase of granular lockdowns is eyed to be implemented in areas outside the National Capital Region (NCR) next month. “[The] lockdown will be limited to a few and small hotspot areas and this will allow some more jobs to be back, those outside the small hotspot areas,” Lopez said. But this proposal has yet to be approved by Malacañang. In a recent radio interview, Lopez said that the granular lockdown
guidelines break down the degree of restrictions into levels 1-4; 4 is the most restrictive. In finalizing the guidelines, the DTI official said the IATF is finetuning the policies in order to make them more specific and effective. He said that hard lockdowns may be imposed on a neighborhood, street or subdivision that has heavy Covid-19 transmission. Lopez stressed that people are not allowed to go in and out of the vicinity under lockdown, except for health-care workers. Continued on A2
n JAPAN 0.4550 n UK 69.2016 n HK 6.4355 n CHINA 7.7465 n SINGAPORE 37.2584 n AUSTRALIA 37.0139 n EU 59.3893 n SAUDI ARABIA 13.3362
Source: BSP (September 3, 2021)