NG debt up 7.71% to ₧14.9T as of ’24 Q1’s end By Reine Juvierre Alberto @reine_alberto
T
THE WORLD | A17
COLOMBIA’S PRESIDENT SAYS COUNTRY WILL BREAK DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL OVER GAZA WAR
ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA JOURNALISM AWARDS
2006 National Newspaper of the Year 2011 National Newspaper of the Year 2013 Business Newspaper of the Year 2017 Business Newspaper of the Year 2019 Business Newspaper of the Year 2021 Pro Patria Award PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY 2018 Data Champion
HE national government has reported an outstanding debt of P14.925 trillion as of the end of the first quarter of 2024, higher by 7.71 percent, or P1.068 trillion, year-on-year from P13.856 trillion in 2023, according to the Bureau of the Treasury. Latest data from the Treasury showed the government’s outstanding debt for the three-month period was lower by 1.67 percent
compared to the end-February level of P15.178 trillion, which the Treasury credited to the net redemption of domestic government securities. Year-to-date, the debt of the government recorded a 2.12-percent increase or P309.45 billion coming from the end-2023 debt level of P14.616 trillion. “Of the total debt stock, 31.14 [percent] is external debt while 68.86 [percent] is domestic debt,” the Treasury said on Thursday. Broken down, domestic debt amounted to P10.277 trillion as
of end-March, which went down by 2.83 percent or P299.21 billion from P10.576 trillion in February 2024. “The decline resulted from the P299.45-billion net redemption of government securities offsetting the P0.24-billion effect of peso depreciation on foreign currency domestic debt,” the Treasury explained. Year-on-year, domestic debt in March 2024 increased by 8.03 percent, or P764.33 billion, from P9.513 trillion, based on Trea-
sury data. The bulk of the domestic borrowings for the period went to government securities at P10.277 trillion, while loans only accounted for P160 million. The government’s external debt amounted to P4.648 trillion as of end-March 2024, or an increase of 7.01 percent over the P4.343 trillion last year. This was also higher by 1 percent than the previous month’s level of P4.602 trillion.
BusinessMirror
See “NG,” A
EJAP JOURNALISM AWARDS
BUSINESS NEWS SOURCE OF THE YEAR 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
2018 BANTOG MEDIA AWARDS
A broader look at today’s business Friday, May 3, 2024 Vol. 19 No. 199
Q
www.businessmirror.com.ph
P. nationwide | sections pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
APRIL MANUFACTURING INDEX HITS 5-MO HIGH By Andrea E. San Juan @andreasanjuan
I
MPROVED demand trends and “solid” expansion in production pushed the indicator of Philippine manufacturing activities to a fivemonth high in April 2024, according to the Standard & Poor’s (S&P) Global Market Intelligence (GMI). Based on the S&P Global Philippines Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), the country’s composite index score improved to 52.2 in April, up from 50.9 in March. The latest reading also indicated the strongest improvement in operating conditions across the Philippine manufacturing sector in five months, the think tank noted. See “April,” A
CULTIVATING CLIMATE SOLUTIONS Canada’s Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, and Edwina Garchitorena, chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Forest Foundation Philippines, share a light moment during the launch of the Forest Foundation Philippines and Canada Drive Climate Adaptation Efforts on Nature-based Solutions at a Makati City hotel. Story below. NONIE REYES
DA: KEY CROPS BEAR EL NIÑO BRUNT, DAMAGE HITS P5.9B
DENR backs Canada-PHL nature-based solutions deal By Roderick L. Abad
By Ada Pelonia @adapelonia
D
A M AG A c au sed by El Niño to the country’s farm sector has climbed to P5.9 billion, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA). In its latest report, the DA said the volume of production losses reached 255,467 metric tons (MT). Palay suffered the brunt of the dry spell as the sector lost 129,350 MT for palay; corn, 98,937 MT; and
high-value crops, 26,826 MT for high-value crops. The DA said the volume of production destroyed by El Niño is equivalent to P3.1 billion for palay, P1.76 billion for corn, and P958 million for high-value crops. The agency indicated in its report that the rice production loss of 129,350 MT is equivalent to about 1.40 percent of the 9.22 million MT (MMT) target output for the dry cropping See “DA,” A
@rodrik_28
T
HE Phi l ippine gover nment has partnered with its Canadian counterpart to push for natural ways to adapt to the changing climate patterns, whose adverse impact has been felt with constant high temperatures and extreme heat index records in many parts of the country for several weeks now. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga keynoted the Philippine Canadian Partnership on Nature-
based Solutions for Climate Adaptation (PCP4NbS) Program launch at the Makati Diamond Residences on Thursday. The event was led by Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines David Hartman and Forest Foundation Philippines (FFP) Chairperson Edw ina Garchitorena, and the rest of the FFP Board of Trustees. According to the DENR chief, this partnership beefs up the strength of the Filipino—especially rural and indigenous women—against the effects of the See “DENR,” A
PESO EXCHANGE RATES Q US 57.5830 Q JAPAN 0.3712 Q UK 72.1342 Q HK 7.3612 Q CHINA 7.9699 Q SINGAPORE 42.3342 Q AUSTRALIA 37.5729 Q EU 61.6944 Q KOREA 0.0418 Q SAUDI ARABIA 15.3538 Source: BSP (May 2, 2024)