"We will still pursue that ($ 900 million) but right now we are enjoying some flexibility. It is only March," he told reporters.

Depending on the interest rate environment, Teves said it is likely they would issue new bonds before September at the latest for the remaining 0-million foreign borrowing requirements.

Last January the NG issued $ 2.2 billion bonds comprising of $ 1.5 billion 25-year ROPs and EURO500 million ten-year bonds. The transaction covered more than half of the country’s borrowing needs worth $ 3.1 billion this year from commercial sources.

"We just need to fill up the requirements (remaining 0 million) plus the programmed loans and ODA (official development assistance) funds," Teves said. The expected ODA monies this year is about $ 1 billion.

The DoF chief added the government would go back to the global bonds market when the pricing environment is "encouraging enough." However, Teves emphasized that the main objective is still debt reduction. NG debt is now P4 trillion while external debt is $ 55 billion.

The NG borrowing profile in 2006 on paper is 58:42 but the ratio usually changes towards the middle portion of the year. "If the dollars come in and the strong inflows are sustained, then we will get more peso borrowings," National Treasurer Omar Cruz said.

Total government including BSP will have maturing loans worth $ 5 billion this year. The borrowing requirement is $ 4 billion of which .2 billion is done.

Politicians such as Congressman Joey Salceda said the government could afford to borrow less than this amount or about $ 2 billion, since dollars will continue to swap the market from migrant workers’ remittances, portfolio investments and exports.

However Cruz said they will tap what the NG program allows, but perhaps they will get more from domestic sources to lessen the foreign exchange risks.

This year the government’s borrowing profile favored more foreign borrowing.

In the meantime the government will temper its foreign borrowing next year. The Budget department said it would make sure that dollar sourcing would not exceed 50 percent of total borrowings.