The national government reported gross borrowings more than twice as large in August than it was a year earlier to P61.309 billion, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.
This ramped up the gross borrowings by 114 percent, compared to only P28.652 billion reported in the same month in 2016.
According to the Bureau of the Treasury, gross external borrowings for the month totaled P14.244 billion, up 879.642 percent from P1.454 billion recorded in 2016. Gross local borrowings totaled P47.065 billion, or an increase of 73 percent from P27.198 billion in August 2016.
Broken down, bulk of external borrowings formed program loans with P12.672 billion, while domestic borrowings accounted for P30 billion from fixed rate Treasury bonds.
From January to August this year, the government already spent P581.278 billion for its financing activities, representing an expansion by 60.2 percent from P362.678 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Gross external borrowings for the period totaled P154.634 billion, which rose by 12.5 percent from the P136.915 billion in the same period in 2016. Gross local debt amounted to P426.644 billion, also an expansion by 88.9 percent from the recorded P225.763 billion in 2016.
Earlier, the government under President Duterte bared plans to borrow P889.72 billion for 2018 in a proposed borrowing program. The amount took into account a wider deficit ceiling of 3 percent of local output or the GDP, according to the BTr.
National treasurer Rosalia V. de Leon said the government targets a borrowing mix of 80:20, in which the bulk, or 80 percent, will be sourced from local markets and 20 percent from foreign entities.
From domestic sources, a total P711.77 billion was programmed, while P177.94 billion will be sourced from foreign markets.
National government requires substantially more funds over the next few years to pursue an ambitious infrastructure buildup program designed to boost local output and making sure such output is sustainable.
A similarly ambitious tax-reform program had been launched to ensure the various projects and programs have the financial backing to see their goals to fruition.