THE Philippine government has accumulated over P10 trillion, which translates to a debt of P100,000 for every Filipino citizen.
October data gathered from the Bureau of Treasury showed the national government’s running debt balance on a record-high, mainly attributed to the ramped-up borrowing efforts to boost the government war chest in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
Interestingly, it was during the height of the pandemic that a whistleblower exposed massive corruption at the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation [PhilHealth]. The whistleblower, who was a legal officer prior to his resignation, hinted on a systematic corruption scheme that resulted in some P150-billion losses.
As of October 2020, outstanding debt stood at P10.028 trillion, representing 7.03% increase as compared to September figure pegged at P9.369 trillion.
The increase in the debt stock is mainly from “external and domestic loan availment.”
Of the total amount of the government debt, 71.6% were borrowed from international sources.