Philippines NG debt rises to record-high P17.65-trillion as of end-November

The Philippines’ total outstanding debt inched up to a fresh high of P17.65 trillion as of end-November, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.

Latest data from the Treasury showed the national government’s (NG) outstanding debt went up by 0.49% to P17.65 trillion in November from P17.56 trillion at end-October 2025.

The debt level is already 1.7% above the projected year-end level of P17.36 trillion. November also marked the fifth month in a row that the end-2025 debt projection was breached.

Year on year, NG debt jumped by 9.94% from P16.05 trillion at the end of November 2024.

“The month-on-month increase was underpinned by the net issuance of domestic and external debt, which was partly offset by significantly lower valuations of foreign currency-denominated obligations due to the peso’s appreciation,” the BTr said in a statement on Wednesday.

The peso appreciated against the US dollar from P58.771 at the end of October to P58.729 at the end of November 2025.

However, the local unit has breached the P59-a-dollar mark several times since November and sank to a record low of P59.22 on Dec. 9 and P59.21 on Jan. 7 this year. – Aubrey Rose A. Inosante