Monetary Board okays US$2.70B in foreign borrowings of the public sector in Q3 2023

The Monetary Board (MB) approved a total of US$2.70 billion of public sector foreign borrowings in the third quarter of 2023.

These are all borrowings by the Republic of the Philippines (RP) consisting of four (4) project loans aggregating to US$1.95 billion and one (1) program loan amounting to US$0.75 billion.

These borrowings will fund the National Government’s (NG) program on economic recovery, environmental protection and climate resilience, as well as projects for the transport and agricultural sectors.

Under Section 20, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution of the RP, prior approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), through its MB, is required for all foreign loans to be contracted or guaranteed by the RP.

Similarly, Letter of Instructions No. 158 dated 21 January 1974 also requires all foreign borrowing proposals by the NG, government agencies and government financial institutions to be submitted for approval-in-principle by the MB before commencement of actual negotiations.

The BSP promotes the judicious use of the resources and ensures that external debt requirements are at manageable levels, to support external debt sustainability.