FOREIGN DEBT NG PH LUMOBO SA $87.5-B DAHIL SA PAGPONDO SA COVID-19 RESPONSE

PUMALO ang foreign debt ng Filipinas sa $87.5 billion hanggang noong Hunyo 2020 dahil sa sunod-sunod na pangungutang ng pamahalaan para pondohan ang COVID-19 response.

Sa isang statement, sinabi ni BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno na ang end-June 2020 outstanding external debt ay mas mataas ng $6 billion o 7.4% kumpara sa $81.4-billion level hanggang noong end-March 2020.

“The rise in the debt stock during the second quarter was due to net availments of $2.9 billion, largely attributed to the National Government (NG) as the NG raised $2.4 billion from the issu-ance of global bonds and $3.1 billion from multilateral and bilateral creditors to fund its general financing requirements and COVID-19 pandemic response programs/projects,” wika ni Diokno.

Aniya, ang paglobo ng foreign debt ay dahil rin sa adjustments sa naunang periods na $2.1 billion, pagtaas sa non-residents’ investment sa Philippine debt papers issued offshore na $839 million, at positive foreign exchange (FX) revaluation na $227 million sa paghina ng US dollar kontra ibang currencies, kabilang ang Philippine peso.

Inilarawan ng BSP ang external debt bilang “all types of borrowings by Philippine residents from non-residents, following the residency criterion for international statistics.”

Sinabi ni Diokno na sa kabila ng pagtaas sa external debt level, ang key external debt indicators ay nanatili sa ‘prudent levels’.

“Gross International Reserves stood at $93.5 billion as of end-June 2020 and represented 8.7 times cover for short-term debt under the original maturity concept,” anang central bank chief.

Sa unang anim na buwan ng 2020, ang debt service ratio (DSR) ay bahagyang tumaas sa 7.8% mula sa 7.7% na naitala sa kaparehong panahon noong nakaraang taon. Ang DSR ay tuloy-tuloy na nanatili sa single digit levels, ayon kay Diokno.