As of September 2015, the General Government debt to GDP ratio improved to 36.8% from 37.2% in Q3 2014.

Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima remarked, “We still function in a very uncertain global environment. Keeping this ratio down is part and parcel of our commitment to keeping the Philippines resilient. We can expect the downtrend to persist further.”

The General Government (GG) debt was listed at P4.8 trillion, a 5.1% increase from the P4.6 trillion recorded during the same period last year. This can be attributed to the P238.0 billion addition in outstanding National Government (NG) debt (net of the Bond Sinking Fund holdings). Domestic borrowings rose by 4.9% while foreign debt, which comprise 38% of NG debt stock went up by 4.5% reflecting the impact of peso depreciation.

Furthermore, Local Government debt slightly increased by 1.4% to P69.4 billion compared to last year’s level of P68.5 billion due to higher loan availments. Tranche releases are based on project accomplishments. Social Security Institutions such as the GSIS and the SSS did not add to the debt stock but raised their holdings of Government Securities by 1.2% or P5.9 billion from last year’s level.

GG debt consists of the outstanding debt of the NG, the CB-BOL, Social Security Institutions, and the Local Government Units less intra-sector debt holdings of government securities including those held by the BSF.