By LEE C. CHIPONGIAN
The National Government’s outstanding non-financial public sector debt as of September 2004 was higher by 5.6 percent to P4.6 trillion, or 94.8 percent of last year’s gross domestic product.
In a report, the Department of Finance said the non-financial public sector debt increased by
P243.6 billion. In 2003, the full-year figure was P4.3 trillion. In the meantime the total domestic debt increased by 8.8 percent to P1.5 trillion while total foreign debt reached P3.1 trillion, up 4.1 percent from the previous P2.9 trillion.
The DoF said the NG debt including intrasector debt holdings, represents 81.2 percent of the total non-financial public sector debt.
Total government obligations reached P3.7 trillion or 77 percent of GDP as of September last year, higher by P373.9 billion. In the meantime the P257 billion rise in domestic debt was attributed to the net issuance of government securities.
The fourteen monitored non-financial government corporations recorded a debt level of P1.7 billion during the said period, or 35.1 percent of GDP. It was higher by 3.8 percent or P61.9 billion to P1.6 trillion the previous year.
The National Power Corp. which includes the National Transmission Corp. and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. holds 80.5 percent of the total debt of the 14 MNFGCs. It incurred a debt of P1.4 trillion or P52.5 billion more from 2003.
The DoF said the Social Security Institutions showed the highest growth of 31.7 percent to P43.8 billion from P33.3 billion. This is because of the increase in deferred credits posted by the Government Service Insurance System. In the meantime Local Government Units also increased 10.4 percent to P48.5 billion. The Central Bank Board of Liquidators however, reduced its debt by 12.4 percent from P60.5 billion to P53 billion.
Last week the DoF released its consolidated public sector deficit in 2004, which was lower by P83 billion to P233.5 billion or five percent of GDP.
The DoF earlier projected that CPSD will end the year with P316 billion or about 5.2 percent of GDP. In the meantime public sector borrowing last year amounted to P286 billion, 6.2 percent of GDP.
DoF Secretary Cesar V. Purisima said public sector deficit was lower than target due to improved financial positions of the National Government, the fourteen monitored non-financial government corporations and the social security institutions and local government units.
DoF data said the fourteen GOCCs registered an aggregate deficit of P90.7 billion, lower than the projected deficit of P125.5 billion. The source of savings came largely from lower than program cost to acquire fixed assets for most government firms.
For 2004 the NG and its various corporations kept tight controls on its financials to ensure that its combined budget deficits, recorded as CPSD, remain under programmed levels.
The CPSD is also a record of the NG financial positions not only of GOCCs but state-pension funds, local governments and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
