Philippine debt ratio at 60.2%

THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT The (NG) debt as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) was 60.2% as of 2012 Ffirst quarter, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said on Thursday.

This was down from 61.1% a year ago, but higher than 60.1% at the end of last year, the report said.

This year, the target for public debt to GDP was set at 60.3%. It aims to reduce this further to 55.9% by 2028.

The threshold considered manageable by multilateral lenders for developing economies is 60%.

At the end of March, NG’s outstanding debt fell 1.67% to P14.93 trillion from the record high P15.18 trillion at the end of February, mainly due to net redemption of government bonds.

The Ministry of Finance said theFThe ICIT ratio as a percentage of GDP stood at 4.46% at the end of March, compared to 4.82% a year ago and 6.2% at the end of 2023. It was also well below 5.6% of GDP.FIT ceiling adopted by the government this year.

The country’s budget dFThe ICIT fell 6.82% to $195.9 billion in March compared to a year earlier. In the Ffirst quarter, the Fiscal gap widens by 0.65% to P272.6 billion.

The below-target debt and deficit ratios were due to the “sustained recovery of the economy,” Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said in a Viber message.

He also mentioned improved tax collection, disciplined government spending and other issues Fiscal reform measures.

“These tax and budget reform measures, in addition to accelerating GDP growth that is among the fastest in Asia, would help further reduce NG’s debt-to-GDP ratio, which would help support the country’s favorable credit ratings,” he added to it.

The Philippine economy grew 5.7% last quarter, compared to 5.5% in the previous quarter and 6.4% a year ago. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson