MANILA – The Philippines’ outstanding external debt climbed to US$148.87 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2025, up 1.5 percent from the previous quarter, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported.

The BSP said the increase was mainly due to valuation effects from the depreciation of the US dollar, which raised the dollar-equivalent of borrowings denominated in other currencies by US$1.49 billion. The net acquisition of Philippine debt securities worth US$660.96 million also pushed the figure higher, though net repayments of US$315.67 million partly tempered the rise.

The country’s external debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio stood at 31.2 percent, slightly lower than 31.5 percent in the previous quarter, indicating that debt levels remained manageable.

As of end-June, short-term external debt based on remaining maturity reached US$28.63 billion. The BSP noted this was adequately covered by gross international reserves of US$106 billion, equivalent to 3.7 times cover for short-term obligations.

The debt service ratio, which measures the country’s ability to meet debt payments relative to export earnings and other inflows, improved to 8.7 percent from 9.8 percent a year earlier due to lower principal and interest payments by resident borrowers.

On a year-on-year basis, external debt grew by 14.4 percent, driven largely by national government bond issuances worth US$5.83 billion and US$3.44 billion in external financing obtained by local banks.