MANILA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines' debt rose to 14.15 trillion pesos (roughly 258 billion U.S. dollars) as of end-June, a 0.4 percent increase from total outstanding debt recorded in end-May, due to the net issuance of domestic securities, the Philippines' Bureau of Treasury said on Tuesday.
Of the total debt stock, 31.4 percent was sourced externally, while 68.6 percent was domestic borrowings.
The bureau said the Southeast Asian country's external debt amounted to 4.45 trillion pesos (roughly 81 billion dollars), 1.4 percent lower than in May.
"The reduction in foreign debt was driven by the impact of currency adjustments affecting both the U.S. dollar- and third-currency equivalents leading to a decrease in the peso value of the debt, amounting to 69.98 billion pesos (1.28 billion dollars) and 8.28 billion pesos (151.1 million dollars), respectively," the bureau said, adding that these more than offset the availment of foreign loans amounting to 15.25 billion pesos (278.2 million dollars).
From the end-December 2022 level, the national government's external debt has increased by 5.6 percent. ■