MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The figure may appear huge but the Philippines鈥� P11.07-trillion debt is 鈥渕id-range鈥� compared to other lower-middle-income countries hence there would be 鈥渘o problem鈥� in paying it, Malaca帽ang said Tuesday.
Recent data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed the Philippines鈥� debt hitting a compared to P10.99 trillion in April.
鈥淎lam po ninyo, very conservative po ang ating economic team headed by [Finance] Secretary Dominguez. Iyong ating naiulat pong external debt ngayon, iyan po ay nasa mid-range kung ikukumpara natin sa mga ekonomiya na kasinlakas natin, kagaya ng iba鈥檛 ibang ekonomiya po ng Latin America 鈥� lower-middle-income countries,鈥� presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing.
(You know what, our economic team headed by Secretary Dominguez is very conservative. Our reported external debt now is mid-range compared to economies that are the same as ours, like in Latin America and other lower-middle-income countries.)
鈥淪o malaki pong tingnan iyan, but we are in the mid-range at wala naman pong problema iyan pagdating doon sa ating kakayahan na magbayad as they fall due,鈥� he added.
(It looks huge but we are in the mid-range and there is no problem when it comes to our capacity to pay for it as they fall due.)
Earlier, the Department of Finance said the due to low-interest rates and a strong peso.