Metro Manila, Philippines — The Philippines got some relief from the strengthening of the peso against the US dollar, as the national debt only slightly rose in November to hit ₱13.64 trillion.

However, the country’s debt remained at a record high level, increasing by 0.02% or ₱3.15 billion from October, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said Tuesday.

The latest data also showed an increase of ₱1.92 trillion, or a 16.33% hike, from 2021’s debt pile.

The majority of the outstanding obligations were still raised from local sources.

Domestic debt increased by 0.78% to ₱9.43 trillion.

Loans from foreign sources, on the other hand, were slashed by 1.62% to ₱4.22 trillion, mainly owing to the ₱106.98 billion impact of the peso appreciation.

According to the bureau, the local unit gained ground against the greenback in November, strengthening to ₱56.598 from ₱58.047 as of end-October.

The government’s guaranteed obligations also went up to ₱388 billion.

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