The depreciation of the peso led to higher national government debt in February according to data from the Bureau of Treasury (BTr).

The national government's total debt as of February this year stood at P6.208 trillion, higher by 4.5 percent than the P5.94 trillion debt in the same month last year.

Foreign debt stood at P2.222 trillion as of February, higher by 6.3 percent compared to P2.09 trillion in February 2016.

Foreign currency denominated debts rose as the peso slid from P47.56 to the greenback to P50.25.

Government debt securities stood at P1.371 trillion, while loans amounted to P851.57 million.

Meanwhile government debt in the domestic market also increased by 3.5 percent to P3.985 trillion from P3.85 trillion last year.

Government securities issued to banks reached P3.984 trillion as of end-February, while P598 million went to loans.