MANILA — The Philippine government's debt reached P17.56 trillion at the end of October 2025, increasing by P106.78 billion or 0.61 percent from its level in the prior month, the Bureau of Treasury said.
The debt increased as the government borrowed more from domestic and foreign creditors, and as the peso weakened against the US dollar. The Philippine peso depreciated against the dollar from P58.149 at the end of September to P58.771 at the end of October, Treasury noted.
Domestic debt increased to P12.05 trillion, rising by P72.43 billion or 0.6 percent from September, as net government borrowings hit P70.65 billion. The peso's depreciation, meanwhile, added P1.78 billion to the local currency valuation of retail dollar bonds.
Foreign debt also climbed to P5.52 trillion, up P34.35 billion or 0.63 percent from the previous month, behind the net availment of loans of P8.25 billion and upward net adjustments in the peso equivalent of foreign currency debt of P26.1 billion, Treasury said.
"Peso depreciation against the US dollar added P58.64 billion to the debt total, while peso appreciation against third currencies provided an offset of P32.54 billion," the agency added.
Meanwhile, domestic debt made up almost two-thirds or 68.6 percent of the total debt stock. Treasury said this was consistent with its debt strategy of prioritizing local currency financing to mitigate foreign exchange risks and foster the development of the domestic bond market.
Since the start of the year, the government has added P1.51 trillion to the Philippines' debt. Compared to October last year, the total debt has also increased by P1.54 trillion.
The Philippines has been borrowing heavily in the last few years to finance its ambitious push to build new railways and roads, and upgrade airports. Infrastructure spending however, fell in the third quarter amid a massive corruption scandal in flood control projects.