The government has raised $2.8 billion from foreign borrowings as of mid-September, exceeding the 2009 program by $500 million.

Foreign borrowings include bonds and inflows of which $2.25 billion were global bond issuance and $500 million was the counter cyclical support facility from the Asian Development Bank that National Treasurer Robert Tan said last week has been deposited to National Government accounts for budgetary purposes.

The government has dollar requirements of $4.4 billion this year from program and project loans also called official development assistance or ODA, bonds and other facilities. This is higher compared to next year’s foreign borrowing program of $3.9 billion, of which $2.03 billion are commercial borrowings, $1.05 billion are program loans and $774 million are project loans.

Based on Department of Finance (DoF) papers, program loans are right on target at $1.2 billion this year while project loans will total $400 million. As of end-August, $500 million of program loans were deposited and $280 million of project loans have been disbursed.

DoF Undersecretary Gil Beltran said they are “very careful” not to go beyond the medium-case program of P250 billion budget deficit for 2009.

Achieving this program, said Beltran, will depend on whether or not the tax collecting agencies will recover part of the shortfalls in the first half. “It will also depend on whether spending agencies can resolve the difficulties facing some projects (right of way, bidding procedures),” he added. In the first eight months, the budget gap has reached P210 billion.

The government is still planning to raise an additional $500 million in the fourth quarter to pre-fund 2010 dollar requirements. The Philippines had pre-funded its requirements in the past when opportunities arise.