5-month infra spending slows to ₧557.8B
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HE government’s infrastructure spending slumped in the first five months of the year, weighed down by a temporary halt in public disbursements during the midterm elections. Latest data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed infrastructure disbursements slowed to P557.8 billion, down by 0.9 percent from P562.6 billion a year ago. Infrastructure components of subsidies and equity provided to state-owned corporations, as well as transfers to local government
units (LGUs), form part of infrastructure disbursements. DBM data showed that while disbursements for current operating expenses rose, infrastructure and other capital outlays slipped to P471.5 billion from January to May. This was dragged by the “temporary and unintended” effects of the public spending ban during the election season, particularly in April and May, the DBM explained. For May alone, infrastructure and other capital outlays dropped by 9.2 percent year-on-year to P123.8 billion from P136.4 billion. “The lower outturn was mainly attributed to the lagged effects of
the election-related prohibition on public spending that in turn affected the disbursement performance of the Department of Public Works and Highways [DPWH] for its road infrastructure programs,” the DBM said. Likewise, the DPWH had around P12.2 billion in uncashed checks as of end-May, which were yet to be presented for payment by its contractors. Disbursements for the Department of National Defense’s modernization projects and direct payments for the Department of Transportation’s foreign-assisted rail projects also dipped in April. Even so, fund releases for the government’s share in foreign-
assisted rail projects, such as the North-South Commuter Railway, Metro Manila Subway and Metro Rail Transit Line 3 Rehabilitation Project, helped soften the overall drop in infrastructure spending. According to John Paolo Rivera, senior research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), the dip in infrastructure spending is a recurring pattern during election cycles and does not reflect a shift in government priorities. “In the coming months, we can expect a catch-up in spending, especially as agencies resume project implementation in the second half of the year,” Rivera said. See “5-month,” A2
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By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
OUBLE-DIGIT increase in the government’s borrowings pushed outstanding debt past the P17-trillion mark, climbing to P17.267 trillion as of the first semester of 2025. THE HEAVY PUSH: DEBT GAINS MORE GROUND
Debt level rises anew in June, with 69.2% owed domestically
→P17.267 trillion (June 2025) ▲ +2.1% from P16.918 T in May 2025 ▲ +11.5% from P15.483 T in June 2024
Debt Rising: The Marcos Era in Numbers ❝The national government’s prudent debt management approach strategy reflects the Marcos, Jr. administration’s commitment to safeguarding fiscal sustainability, supporting inclusive growth, and ensuring that every peso borrowed is used to build a stronger economy for the Filipino people. ❞ —Bureau of the Treasury
Debt Composition 30.8% External Debt
69.2% Domestic Borrowings
Domestic Debt: P11.950 trillion →YoY Change: ▲ 13% (from P10.573 T) External Debt: P5.316 trillion →YoY Change: ▲ 8.3% (from P4.910 T)
→By the time President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. ends his term, the government’s debt is expected to swell to P20.7 trillion.
Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed outstanding debt of the national government reached P17.267 trillion as of end-June, 11.5 percent higher year-on-year from P15.483 trillion. The government’s total debt portfolio showed 69.2 percent consisted of domestic borrowings, while 30.8 percent was owed to external lenders. On one hand, domestic debt
rose by 13 percent to P11.950 trillion in the first half of the year from P10.573 trillion a year ago. This was mainly composed of government securities regularly issued by the Treasury to creditors to raise funds. This amounted to P11.950 trillion, up by 13 percent year-on-year from P10.572 trillion. Loans, such as direct loans availed of by agencies, remained See “BTr,” A2
DPWH TO START EDSA REHAB BY ’27, EYES ‘FAST-TRACK’ TECH By Lorenz S. Marasigan
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HE Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is planning to start the long-delayed rehabilitation of Edsa by as late as 2027, with a construction strategy that minimizes traffic disruptions on the country’s busiest road. DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan told reporters that the agency has submitted its recommendation to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., noting that the plan focuses on fast-track technologies to avoid extended
lane closures. “We are looking at technologies that will allow faster completion without shutting down traffic along Edsa. The total surface rehabilitation will take only about six months,” Bonoan said at the sidelines of the Post State of the Nation Address (Sona) briefing on Wednesday. The timeline, however, makes a 2025 start unlikely due to major events such as the Asean meetings next year. “Maybe by next year or 2027,” Bonoan said, assuring that the rehabilitation could See “DPWH,” A2
BM Graphics: Ed Davad | Source: Bureau of the Treasury
Total NG Debt
THE P20 PROMISE Workers load sacks of rice onto Kadiwa trucks at the NFA warehouse in Valenzuela City on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, ahead of the rollout of the “Benteng Bigas Meron Na” program on August 13. The initiative will offer rice at P20 per kilo via FTI booths in NFA warehouses. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the DA is proposing a two-tier pricing scheme— selling 20 percent of rice stocks at P20/kg and the rest at P40–P42/kg—to fund the subsidy. Full rollout will require amending the Rice Tariffication Law. NONOY LACZA
‘Unified Asean should have dealt with US’
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VEN after the tariff lines have been drawn in terms of the rates imposed on goods coming from several Asean countries like the Philippines, local economists said regional cooperation and coordination can still contribute to the fight against high United States tariffs. In a paper, Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) Emeritus Research Fellow Josef T. Yap and Senior Research Fellow Francis Mark A. Quimba said Asean countries missed an opportunity to leverage regional interests against high tariffs before they negotiated with the United States. Yap and Quimba said the Asean, as a regional bloc, could have advocated for adherence to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules instead of following the “dubious configuration” of Trump’s tariffs. “It would have been prudent for
regional blocs to adopt a unified stance. For example, Asean could have advocated for respect for WTO rules without having to flag the dubious configuration of the TTP [Trump Tariff Plan],” Yap and Quimba said. “This could have given cover for its member countries when they negotiated with the US. Instead, Indonesia, Viet Nam and the Philippines carried out negotiations without any imprimatur from Asean, leaving them with an inferior position vis-à-vis the US,” they added. Nonetheless, the economists said there is still an opportunity for the Philippines, who chairs the Asean next year, and other Southeast Asian economies to leverage regional cooperation against high tariffs. The primary recommendation of the economists is to strengthen coalitions. Quimba told Business-
Mirror via email that this can be done by creating a permanent body within the Asean to analyze and respond as a group to external trade pressures. As the Chair of the Asean next year, Quimba said the Philippines can also push for the acceleration of the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which was ratified by the Philippine Senate in 2023. Quimba said the Philippines can also throw its support behind the expansion of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM) in order to better deal with the US and China in the face of higher tariffs and global uncertainty. In May, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors backed the full and robust implementation of the RCEP Agreement to ensure supply chains are not disrupted
and supported the flexibility of the CMIM. (See: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2025/05/05/ asian-central-bankers-revisitbuffers-amid-uncertainties/). “We have to remember we are committed to RCEP and also regional financial arrangements like CMIM. Being the chair, the Philippines is in a delicate position because the Asean member countries have varying degrees of affiliation with both US and China. And the Philippines is viewed as being more aligned with the US,” Yap told BusinessMirror in an email. Quimba also recommended that the region coordinate alternative supply chains within the RCEP agreement and reduce dependence on any single market as well as pursue joint investment promotion targeting non-US markets to diversify economic partnerships. See “Unified,” A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.2880 n JAPAN 0.3860 n UK 76.5081 n HK 7.2986 n CHINA 7.9817 n SINGAPORE 44.4921 n AUSTRALIA 37.3059 n EU 66.1676 n KOREA 0.0412 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.2740 Source: BSP (July 30, 2025)