Debt-to-GDP ratio to drop by 2022 – DBM

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Friday said the ratio of national government debt to Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) could drop to 38.1 percent by 2022 despite the implementation of the government’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program, which would require borrowing more money from domestic and foreign sources.

In a statement, the Budget department said government’s plan to spend P8 trillion to P9 trillion from 2017 to 2022 to fund what is dubbed as the “Golden Age of Infrastructure” in the Philippines would increase the planned budget deficit to 3 percent of GDP from 2 percent over the next six years.