NG to borrow P824 billion locally in Q1

By Katherine K. Chan

THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT (NG) plans to borrow up to P824 billion from domestic sources in the first quarter of 2026, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said on Tuesday.

In a notice on its website, the BTr said it seeks to raise P324 billion from the issuance of Treasury bills (T-bills) and up to P500 billion from the issuance of Treasury bonds (T-bonds) in the January-to-March period.

The government’s first-quarter borrowing plan is 88.56% more than P437 billion set in the fourth quarter.

It is also 82.3% above the P452 billion that was actually raised in the October-to-December period.

“There are really limited awards in Q4 because T-bill and T-bond issuances and maturities are also limited, especially in December in view of the Christmas holiday season and holiday mode in the second half of December,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in mixed English and Filipino via Viber.

In January, the government plans to borrow P268 billion domestically, with P108 billion via T-bills and P160 billion through T-bonds.

The government will hold auctions for T-bills on Jan. 5, Jan. 12, Jan. 19 and Jan. 26 for the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors. However, the Treasury did not provide a breakdown of the amount it seeks to raise for each of these auctions.

Meanwhile, the BTr will offer a maximum of P160 billion via T-bonds in January. It will auction off three-year and 10-year T-bonds on Jan. 6, five-year T-bonds on Jan. 13, seven-year T-bonds on Jan. 20, and three-year and 20-year T-bonds on Jan. 27.

In February, the government aims to borrow P308 billion, which includes P108 billion via T-bills and up to P200 billion via T-bonds.

T-bill auctions for the 91-day, 182-day and 364-day tenors are scheduled for Feb. 2, 9, 16, and 23, but no specific breakdown was given for each auction.

For T-bonds, the BTr will offer the five-year tenor on Feb. 3, the seven-year tenor on Feb. 10, the 10-year tenor on Feb. 18 and the three-year and 25-year tenors on Feb. 24.

For March, the NG seeks to raise P248 billion from the domestic market, composed of P108 billion from T-bills and P140 billion from T-bonds.

The government will hold four T-bill auctions in March. It will sell 91-day, 182-day and 364-day debt papers on March 2, March 9, March 16 and March 23.

The BTr will also offer five-year T-bonds on March 3, seven-year T-bonds on March 10, 10-year T-bonds on March 17 and both three-year and 25-year T-bonds on March 24. No breakdown was available for the March auctions.

Mr. Ricafort said the government’s borrowing plan for next year accounts for its plan to increase foreign borrowings by 60% to $5.3 billion as an alternative to domestic borrowings.

“(This is) also a function of the catch-up spending plan by the NG to make up for the reduced government spending due to the anomalous flood control infrastructure projects in the latter part of 2025,” he added.

Government spending declined for a fourth month in a row in November to P498.3 billion, down 9.61% from the P551.3 billion seen last year. This came as the government tightened spending on public works projects amid the widening flood control corruption scandal.

For 2026, the NG plans to borrow a total of P2.682 trillion, up 3.15% from the P2.6-trillion borrowing program this year. This accounts for 5.1% of the country’s gross domestic product.

It seeks to source 77% or about P2.065 trillion from local lenders and the remaining 23% or P616.86 billion from foreign sources.

Meanwhile, in a separate memorandum on Tuesday, the BTr said it has raised the number of competitive bids per participant during Treasury auctions to 20 lines from the previous 10.