NG gross borrowings jump over 40% in Feb.

THE National Government’s (NG) gross borrowings grew by over 40% in February amid a surge in domestic borrowings, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.

Data from the BTr showed that the total gross borrowings jumped by 41% to P478.77 billion in February from P339.55 billion in the same month in 2025.

Domestic debt accounted for 97.8% of the total gross borrowings for the month.

In February, gross domestic borrowings stood at P468.24 billion, surging by 232.6% from P140.8 billion in the same month in 2025.

This consisted of fixed-rate Treasury bonds amounting to P412.94 billion and Treasury bills worth P55.3 billion.

On the other hand, gross external debt plunged by 94.7% to P10.52 billion in February from P198.75 billion in the same month last year.

External debt in February included P7.99 billion in project loans and P2.53 billion in program loans. There were no global bonds issued during the month.

In the January-to-February period, the NG’s gross borrowings jumped by 60.5% to P887 billion from P552.69 billion in the same period last year.

This represents almost a third of the P2.68-trillion gross borrowings program for the year under the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing 2026.

Domestic debt accounted for the bulk or 77.1% of total gross borrowings in the first two months.

Gross domestic borrowings surged by 133.6% to P684.34 billion in the January-to-February period from P293 billion in the same period a year ago. This is a third of the P2.05-trillion gross domestic borrowings program for the year.

It was composed of P589.54 billion in fixed-rate Treasury bonds and P94.8 billion in Treasury bills.

As of end-February, gross external debt slipped by 22% to P202.66 billion from P259.69 billion a year ago. This represented 32.3% of the P627.1-billion program for the year.

External borrowings consisted of P161.29 billion in global bonds, P28.92 billion in program loans, and P12.45 billion in project loans.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said that he expects gross borrowings to increase in the coming months amid higher government spending.

“For the coming months, catch-up spending by the NG, the war in the (Middle East), the US dollar/peso exchange rate, and interest rates could all lead to higher government spending and debt servicing costs that, in turn, would widen the budget deficit, which would require more NG borrowings,” he said in a Viber message.

Mr. Ricafort said that there was a frontloading in the early part of the year amid “signals on the war on Iran earlier this year, as well as other geopolitical risks such as those on Venezuela and Greenland, among others.”

The local currency closed at an all-time low of P60.748 against the greenback on March 31, only returning to the below-P60 level last week. — Justine Irish D. Tabile