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MANILA – The Aquino administration ramped up its borrowings by 40 percent in the first five months of the year, as expenditures outpaced revenues for the period.
Data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that the government borrowed P377.848 billion at end-May, 39.49 percent higher than the P270.88 billion in debt incurred in the same period last year.
Government expenditures grew by 13.1 percent to P668.431 billion in the first five months this year whereas revenue growth lagged at 11 percent to P645.645 billion.
In May alone, the government’s gross borrowings stood at P30.259 billion, or 43.41 percent lower than the P53.47 billion in debt incurred in the same month last year.
Gross external borrowings reached P11.529 billion, while fresh local debt reached P18.73 billion in May.
Bulk of government borrowings in the first five months of this year consisted of P179.8 billion in retail Treasury bonds issued in March.
The government also issued P137.038 billion in fixed-rate Treasury bonds, while redeeming P34.229 billion in Treasury bills.
Payments for domestic debt reached P181.204 billion, thus bringing local net borrowings to P101.401 billion, a reversal of the P48.162 billion net redemptions made during the same period a year ago.
Foreign borrowings in the first five months of this year consisted of ROP bonds worth P66.04 billion issued in January, project loans worth P13.323 billion and program loans worth P15.885 billion.
The government settled P24.999 billion worth of external debts, thus leading to net external borrowings of P70.244 billion at end-May, or 35.49 percent higher than the P51.846 billion in 2011.
During the first five months of the year, the government incurred a budget deficit of P22.786 billion, merely a fifth of the first-half ceiling of P109.341 billion.
The government has programmed a deficit of P279 billion for the whole year.
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