MANILA -- The Philippines sovereign debt further increased to P16.63 trillion at the end of February, the Bureau of Treasury said on Tuesday.

The figure was P319.26 billion, or 1.96 percent higher compared to the end of January, as the government borrowed more money to support more public programs and projects.

In the first two months of the year, the country's debt had grown by P589.73 billion or 3.62 percent. Compared to February last year, meanwhile, the country had added P1.45 trillion to its total debt or 9.57 percent, according to Treasury data.

The agency noted that the figure would have been higher if not for the peso's appreciation versus the dollar, which partially offset the added borrowings.

From P58.375 at the end of January, the peso strengthened to P57.99 at the end of February, helping manage foreign debt obligations, Treasury said.

In terms of share, domestic debt accounted for 67.5 percent of the total obligations, while foreign debt made up 32.5 percent of the total.

"This financing mix reflects a prudent approach to debt management to help mitigate exposure to external risks while taking advantage of the country’s liquid domestic market," Treasury said.

Domestic debt totaled P11.22 trillion, which was P139.62 billion or 1.26 percent higher than in January. Foreign debt, meanwhile stood at P5.41 trillion or P179.64 billion or 3.44 percent higher from January.

Part of the increase in foreign debt was due to the P20.41 billion net appreciation effect on debt that was not denominated in US dollars. However, the peso's appreciation versus the US currency also cut P34.48 billion from the value of the country's foreign debt.

Philippine economic managers have maintained that the national debt remains manageable despite a significant increase since the pandemic. Finance Secretary Ralph Recto has said that as long as the country's economy grows faster than the debt, the Philippines has little to worry about.