MANILA - The national government's outstanding debt increased by 3.8 percent in 2015.

Data from the Bureau of Treasury showed that the debt stood at P5,954 billion at the end of 2015. Month-on-month, a slight increase of 0.03 percent or P1.92 billion was recorded compared to the previous month's level.

Domestic debt amounted to P3,884 billion, 1.7 percent or P63.78 billion higher than the end-2014 level.

Compared to November 2015 figures, domestic debt decreased by 0.3 percent or P11.33 billion due to the net redemption of government securities amounting to P11.35 billion offsetting the P0.02 billion upward adjustment in peso value of foreign currency domestic liabilities due to peso depreciation.

With full-year gross domestic product (GDP) growth reaching 5.8 percent, debt in proportion to GDP has kept a gradual downward trajectory to 44.8 percent in 2015 from 45.4 percent last year.

The improvement in the debt-to-GDP ratio can be attributed to the sustained accelerated pace of economic growth in tandem with disciplined fiscal spending that moderated borrowing requirements for the year.

"The Philippines is fully committed to a proactive liability management strategy to keep our debt structure resilient. I am optimistic we can further trim down our debt-to-GDP ratio, which from 52.4 percent in 2010 has narrowed to 44.8 percent in 2015, a 7.6 percentage point (ppt) difference," Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said in a statement.