BSP: PH FOREIGN DEBT ‘MANAGEABLE’

NANANATILING ‘manageable’ ang external debt ng Filipinas sa kabila ng paglobo nito ngayong taon upang pondohan ang COVID-19 response ng bansa, ayon sa Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

Ang national debt ay pumalo sa P9 trillion hanggang noong katapusan ng Hunyo, kung saan 32 percent nito ay foreign debt.

Ayon sa Bureau of the Treasury (BOTr), mula sa pagsisimula ng taon, ang pamahalaan ay nakautang ng mahigit sa P1.3 trillion.

Subalit sinabi ni BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno na patuloy na mababayaran ng bansa ang maturing foreign obligations nito, salamat sa “markedly improved external debt manageability na natamo sa loob ng 20 taon ng critical structural reforms.”

“Along with sound economic management, reforms involving industry and foreign exchange liberalization, tax and debt management, and the financial sector have helped strengthen the regulatory environment and the economy’s capacity to absorb shocks,” sabi ni Diokno.

“The Philippines had a robust external debt position before the quarantines were imposed.”

Ayon sa central bank, ang  external debt ng bansa ay nasa  $81.4 billion sa end-March 2020,  mas mababa ng $2.2 billion sa  $83.6 billion na naitala noong December 2019.

“The first quarter 2020 external debt figure represented 21.4 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, much lower than the 57.3 percent recorded 15 years earlier,” sabi pa ng BSP.