MANILA - The Philippines' national debt grew to P15.89 trillion in September, higher by 2.2 percent compared to August, the Bureau of Treasury said on Wednesday.

Treasury however maintained that the debt level remains manageable as majority or 68.8 percent were borrowed from local lenders and only 31.2 percent was foreign debt. 

"Domestic debt reached P10.94 trillion as of end-September 2024, a modest increase of 1.3 percent from the previous month. This was mainly driven by P145.11 billion net issuance of new government securities, which was slightly offset by a P460 million decrease in the value of US dollar-denominated securities due to the appreciation of the Philippine peso," the agency said. 

Meanwhile, foreign debt grew 4.2 percent in September from August to P4.96 trillion. The peso's appreciation in September helped to pare off P2.43 billion in the overall external debt, Treasury said.

"Overall, the Philippine government’s prudent debt management, supported by heavy bias on local funding, contributes to the country’s strong fiscal position and continued resilience amidst global uncertainties," Treasury said. 

The Philippines had borrowed heavily during the time of former President Rodrigo Duterte to finance the country's pandemic response as well as to fund his administration's ambitious infrastructure push. 

While the country's debt-to-GDP ratio was around 40 percent before the pandemic, this surged to over 60 percent during the COVID-19 lockdowns. A former Finance chief estimated that as of 2023, the country's per capita debt burden had risen to P134,782.

Despite the rising debt, economic managers have insisted that the debt level remains manageable as the country's economy has kept growing. Global debt-watching agencies have also maintained the country's investment-grade rating.