The Philippines is looking to raise over $2 billion in foreign commercial borrowings next year, higher than earlier planned, to finance a wider-than-expected budget deficit, a senior government official said Tuesday.

National Treasurer Roberto Tan told Reuters the country's overseas debt issues next year may reach 98 billion pesos ($2.02 billion), up from an earlier estimate of $1.5 billion, after the government raised its budget deficit target for 2010.

The Southeast Asian country's foreign debt sales in 2010 would include global and yen bonds, a government source, who asked not to be named pending the finance secretary's approval of the debt plan, told Reuters last week.

Manila was allowed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to sell up to $1 billion in Samurai bonds within two years to help bridge its fiscal gap. But it wants JBIC to lower the guarantee fee to make it a cheaper funding source.

The government has set a budget deficit goal of 233.4 billion pesos, or 2.8 percent of GDP, under its proposed 2010 spending plan of 1.54 trillion pesos – at the high end of an earlier indicative range of 2.5 to 2.8 percent of GDP.

Tan said the government also aims to raise P87.2 billion in official development loans next year, and 475.2 billion pesos from the domestic debt market to help fund the budget gap.

''These are the emerging numbers based on the 233.4 billion pesos budget deficit (target next year),'' Tan said.

Manila, one of Asia's largest sovereign debt issuers, sold a total $2.25 billion of global bonds this year to finance a budget deficit set to hit a record high of 250 billion pesos or 3.2 percent of GDP.

Rosalia de Leon, head of the finance department's international finance group, told Reuters the Asian Development Bank was close to approving the Philippines' request for a $500 million loan from the bank's $3 billion counter-cyclical fund. (Reuters)