FOR the period January to March 2023, the Monetary Board (MB) approved a total of $5.56 billion of public sector foreign borrowings. These are 16 percent higher than the $4.80 billion approved in the same period in 2022. These consist of $1-denominated bond issuance amounting to $3.0 billion, two project loans aggregating to $0.30 billion and five program loans aggregating to $2.26 billion.

These borrowings will fund the national government's general budget financing and financing/refinancing of assets in line with the Republic of the Philippines' Sustainable Finance Framework ($3.0 billion), Covid-19 pandemic response and recovery, among others, ($2.26 billion), infrastructure ($0.20 billion) and education ($0.10 billion) projects.