Government debt hits P4.4 trillion in January

Outstanding debt of the National Government rose by 4.3 percent year on year to hit P4.443 trillion last January, the Treasury bureau said on Wednesday. Of the total, P2.43 trillion was owed to domestic creditors, accounting for 54.7 percent of total debt and up by 1.5 percent from January last year. Some P2.42 trillion worth of government securities were sold last January, also slightly up by 1.8 percent from the same month in 2009. Domestic loans availed of by National Government agencies, however, dropped by 49.8 percent to P6.8 billion in January. Foreign debt last January reached P2 .01 trillion, accounting for 45.3 percent of the total and up by 7.9 percent from the same month last year. — BusinessWorld