MANILA — The Philippine national government's total outstanding debt reached P12.79 trillion as of the end of June 2022 or the first half of the year, data from the Bureau of Treasury said Friday.

The debt stock climbed 2.4 percent in June due to the net issuances of domestic and external loans as well as currency adjustments, the Bureau of Treasury said in a statement.

Out of the total debt, 31.5 percent was sourced externally while 68.5 percent were domestic borrowings, the BTr said.

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Domestic borrowings reached P8.77 trillion or 1.2 percent higher compared to May, while external debt hit P4.02 trillion which rose by 5.1 percent, data showed.

"The increment in external debt was attributed to the impact of local currency depreciation agains the USD amounting to P186.94 billion," it said.

Net availment of external financing also offset the effect of the net depreciation against the US dollar on third-currency denominated obligations, the agency said.

External debt rose by 7.3 percent compared to the end-December 2021 level, it added.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno earlier said the country does not need to borrow that much as the economy showed signs of continued recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Philippines borrowed heavily in the last 2 years to fund its pandemic war chest.

But Diokno said the country's economic growth could easily outweigh its debts. The economy grew faster than expected at 8.3 percent in the first half of 2022.

In his first State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr said he aimed to cut the country's debt-to-GDP ratio to below 60 percent or the global standard, from 63.5 percent in March.

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