Weaker peso pushes up Philippines debt to P18.5 trillion in March

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May 8, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines —  The country’s outstanding debt rose to P18.49 trillion as of end-March, a new record high amid a weaker peso and net issuance of domestic securities, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.

Data from the BTr showed the national debt inched up by 1.8 percent to P18.49 trillion, eclipsing the P18.16 trillion level the previous month.

The increase was primarily attributed to “the revaluation impact of peso depreciation against the US dollar, alongside net issuance of domestic securities,” after the peso tumbled to 60:$1 level as the US-Israel war against Iran rages on.

Year-on-year, debt went up by 10.8 percent from P16.68 trillion in the same period in 2025.

For March alone, the government added P328.43 billion to the debt pile. The current debt stock is now 97 percent of the expected P19.06 trillion debt by end-2026.

The bulk or 68 percent of the debt consisted of domestic borrowings while the remaining 32 percent was sourced externally.

As of end-March, the BTr said domestic debt at P12.53 trillion went up by 0.4 percent on a monthly basis due to the net issuance of government securities amounting to P46.72 billion. It also jumped by 10.2 percent from the P11.38 trillion in the previous year.

The depreciation of the local unit also contributed P8.68 billion to the peso value of foreign-currency denominated domestic securities, it said.

Meanwhile, external obligations stood at P5.95 trillion, up by 4.8 percent month-on-month and 12.2 percent higher than the P5.30 trillion a year earlier.

“The increase was largely attributed to the depreciation of the peso, which raised the peso value of foreign currency-denominated obligations by P299.50 billion, following a P3.039 weakening in the peso-dollar exchange rate,” according to the BTr.

However, this was partially tempered by net repayments of P2.55 billion and downward revaluation of third currencies debt by P23.92 billion.

Total debt guaranteed obligations picked up by 0.4 percent to P381.41 billion as of end-March.