THE Department of Finance (DOF) said the incoming government of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongong” Marcos, Jr must earn at least an additional P250 billion per year in the next 10 years to be able to pay off the country’s more than P3-trillion debt.
DOF Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said that as early as now, the incoming government should take action and push forward programs that can attract revenues for the government.
He said that through these programs, the incoming administration will be able to continue allocating funds to socioeconomic programs, maintain the country’s good credit ratings and be able to get out from paying the country’s debt.
For now, Dominguez said they have already prepared a fiscal consolidation plan that will be turned over to the new Marcos administration so that in the future it will be able to collect an average of P284 billion pesos per year.
This is important, he said, to ensure sustained investments in the field of education, health, infrastructure and job creation in the country.
This March, the country’s debt rose to a record high of P12.68 trillion due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic response efforts , and is expected to balloon further to P13.2 trillion by the end of the year.
According to DOF Officer-in-Charge Undersecretary Valery Joy Brion, the new administration has three options to be able to pay off the country’s debt: continue to borrow to pay off existing debt, reduce unnecessary expenses, and increase the country’s revenue stream through new taxes and its proper administration.