MANILA -- The Philippines' national debt rose further to P15.18 trillion at the end of February, the Bureau of Treasury said Wednesday. 

This was P388.51 billion higher than the total at the end of January, and P562.43 billion higher compared to the end of December 2023.

It was also higher by P1.426 trillion compared to February last year. 

• PH debt in January reached P14.79 trillion

Treasury said the month-on-month increase was due primarily to domestic borrowings, but this was partly tempered by the appreciation of the peso on the value of the country's foreign debt.

The stronger peso trimmed the Philippines' foreign debt by P26 billion in February, while also cutting P660 million from the value of the country's domestic debt through a revaluation of the foreign currency-denominated domestic best, Treasury said.

Foreign debt accounted for 30.32 percent of the total while domestic debt made up the remaining 69.68 percent. 

The government borrowed P708.74 billion in February, including through the issuance of P584.86 billion in 5-year retail treasury bonds. 

The government borrowed heavily during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to fund the country's pandemic response. It has also been borrowing heavily to fund its ambitious infrastructure drive. 

Last year, a congressional think tank warned the Philippines' debt burden was growing faster than the national budget was increasing.

• Philippine debt burden growing faster than budget: House think tank

While the national government's expenditure program has been steadily going up, the rate of its increase is much slower than the growth of the debt burden since 2021, the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department (CPBRD) said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself said the Philippine government is “worrying” about the country’s debt even if the country is “doing better than its neighbors.”

• Marcos says Philippines' debt-to-GDP ratio ‘worrying’