THE government’s debt increased in April mainly as a result of the rise of loans from the domestic creditors, latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.

According to data, total government debt increased to P4.71 trillion for the period, 43 percent of which was owed to foreign creditors or about P2.02 trillion, and 57 percent from domestic sources or about P2.68 trillion.

Domestic debt, according to data, increased by P19 billion based on March data as a result of the net issuance of government securities.

Foreign debt, meanwhile, decreased by P13 billion from March level due to the P1-billion net repayment and P26- billion appreciation of the peso against the US dollar.

This, however, was partially offset by the P14-billion net appreciation of the third currencies against the US dollar.

In April last year, total government debt reached P4.43 trillion, or P275.4 billion lower than April 2011 level.

The contingent debt of the government debt, meanwhile, dropped to P518 billion, or lower by P7 billion from end- March 2011 level of P525 billion. The said item is composed mainly of guarantees issued by the government.

“The decrease was attributed to the foreign contingent obligations due to  the combined effects of the P5 billion appreciation of the peso against the US dollar, P6 billion net repayment and P4 billion net appreciation of the third currencies against the US dollar,” the BTr said.

The current government debt stock means that each Filipino has a debt of about P50,122 based on population of 94 million.

The government has predicted the debt stock to breach the P5-trillion mark by the end of the year after it announced earlier that the Aquino administration will borrow on behalf of government-owned and -controlled corporations in a move to manage its financial obligations and save on borrowing cost.

The Aquino administration relies heavily on foreign and domestic borrowing to supplement its budget shortfall, targeted to hit about P300 billion this year.