MANILA, July 29 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' outstanding debt soared past 9 trillion pesos (roughly 183.9 billion U.S. dollars) as of end-June as the government borrowed more to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's Bureau of Treasury said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the treasury bureau said the total debt stock for the month reached 9.05 trillion pesos, an increase of 163.3 billion pesos (roughly 3.3 billion U.S. dollars) or 1.8 percent compared to May "due to the net issuance and availment of domestic and external financing."
Of the total outstanding debt stock, the bureau said 32 percent were sourced externally while 68 percent are domestic debt.
Data from the Department of Finance (DOF) of the Philippines showed that from January to June, the government has availed program loans worth 216.3 billion pesos (roughly 4.4 billion U.S. dollars) for coronavirus response, with 130.5 billion pesos (roughly 2.6 billion U.S. dollars) from the Asian Development Bank and 85.8 billion pesos (roughly 1.74 billion U.S. dollars) from the World Bank.
The Philippines' debt-to-GDP ratio before the COVID-19 strike was at only 39.6 percent in 2019.
Ndiame Diop, the newly designated country director of the World Bank for Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, said that with the Philippines' debt of equivalent to just 40 percent the size of its economy at the time when the coronavirus pandemic struck, the Philippine government has enough fiscal space to address the emergency triggered by the COVID-19 crisis.
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