THE national government’s local borrowing program for the third quarter of 2019, at P230 billion, is lower by 23.3 percent than the P300 billion made in the same period last year, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
The planned P230-billion local borrowing is also lower by 26.98 percent than the borrowings programmed in the second quarter of this year, amounting to P315 billion.
Broken down, borrowings in the form of Treasury bills (T-bills) for the third quarter amount to P90 billion, and for Treasury bonds (T-bonds), P140 billion.
The auction for government securities is scheduled every other week, with the auction of T-bills happening on Mondays, bearing an offering of P15 billion at each auction.
The auction for T-bonds is slated every other Tuesday, with an offering volume of a total of P30 billion for July, P45 billion for August and P30 billion for September.
Earlier, National Treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the Treasury will have to assess its cash operations report in line with recalibrating the government’s borrowing program, as the government operated under a 2018 reenacted budget during the first four months of this year.
“[The volume will depend] on the spending. We have a cash programing meeting this week…We will have to calibrate, because there’s a catch-up plan in terms of the disbursements, so that would be running now…So, we will have to see how spending goes this month,” de Leon said.
The 2019 budget standoff between the House of Representatives and the Senate, which accused House leaders of manipulating the bicameral version even after ratification in plenary, caused the delay in the signing of the money measure. The 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA) was signed by President Duterte only last April 15.
Earlier, the BTr said the national government has programmed its gross borrowings for both domestic and foreign IOUs at P1.19 trillion, with the government eyeing a borrowing mix of 75:25, with the bulk in domestic borrowings.
In March, the national government reported that its gross borrowings for 2018 nearly hit the P1-trillion level as it inched up by 5.08 percent to P947.551 billion. In 2017, when the government firmed up its “Build, Build, Build” (BBB) program, gross borrowings hit P901.672 billion.