Camille Naredo

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. delivers his speech during the departure ceremony at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City as he embarks on a State Visit to the Republic of India from August 4 to 8, 2025.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. delivers his speech during the departure ceremony at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City as he embarks on a State Visit to the Republic of India from August 4 to 8, 2025.
Presidential Communications Office

Article (news)

MARCOS

Katrina Domingo

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/175446922546620250804-marcos-india-visit-departure-PCO-4.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. delivers his speech during the departure ceremony at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City as he embarks on a State Visit to the Republic of India from August 4 to 8, 2025. Handout/Presidential Communications Office"/>President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. delivers his speech during the departure ceremony at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City as he embarks on a State Visit to the Republic of India from August 4 to 8, 2025. Handout/Presidential Communications Office</div>MANILA -- President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government will &quot;slowly bring down&quot; the Philippines&#x27; P17.27-trillion debt, assuring the public that the borrowed fund is being used to generate more jobs and invest in the upskilling of Filipino workers.Marcos gave the statement on the third episode of his podcast, where he was asked about the country&#x27;s debt which increased by P1.78 trillion or 11.5 percent since June 2024.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/7/31/philippine-national-debt-rises-to-p17-27-trillion-in-june-1438#:~:text=Philippine%20national%20debt%20rises%20to,ABS%2DCBN%20News" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Philippine national debt rises to P17.27 trillion in June </a></div>&quot;Dahan-dahan mapapababa natin &#x27;yan. Slowly we will bring it down,&quot; Marcos said.&quot;Basta&#x27;t &#x27;yung pera ng Pilipinas ay ginagamit sa tamang paraan. &#x27;Yung perang nakalaan para sa ganitong – para sa classroom ginamit talaga sa classroom. Hindi nakalagay doon dalawang classroom, ginawa lang isang classroom. Binulsa na &#x27;yung natira. O &#x27;yung mga ganoong klase,&quot; he said.&quot;&#x27;Pag talagang mahigpit tayo at tama ang gamit nung ating pondo, mayroon tayo.&quot;Of the Philippines&#x27; P17.27-trillion borrowings, domestic debt continued to make up the bulk of the national debt at P11.95 trillion or 69.2 percent of the total debt. Foreign debt, meanwhile, was at P4.91 trillion or 30.8 percent of the total.Several analysts earlier expressed concern over the country&#x27;s rising debt, but economic managers said the increasing debt was not a cause for worry as long as the country&#x27;s economy grows faster, and the debt-to-GDP ratio remains manageable.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/7/7/philippines-higher-debt-to-gdp-ratio-not-a-cause-for-concern-palace-1728" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Philippines&#x27; higher debt-to-GDP ratio not a cause for concern: Palace</a></div>&quot;&#x27;Pag tinitingnan lamang &#x27;yung utang, tinitingnan lang &#x27;yung liabilities. Eh tingnan niyo &#x27;yung asset,&quot; the Chief Executive said.&quot;Nadadagdagan &#x27;yung asset natin. Nadadagdagan &#x27;yung training natin,&quot; he said.&quot;Ako, pinakamalaking asset natin &#x27;yung Pilipino, &#x27;yung manggagawang Pilipino so, &#x27;yung utang na &#x27;yun, gagamitin mo naman para pang-training doon sa taong &#x27;yun. Anong balik nun? Ang balik nun employment at saka employments na magandang trabaho, hindi &#x27;yung mga basta-basta na trabaho. Ito &#x27;yung talagang magandang trabaho,&quot; he said.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/7/31/national-debt-might-hit-p23-trillion-by-2028-lacson-1208" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">National debt might hit P23 trillion by 2028 - Lacson</a></div>Marcos said he hopes that the government&#x27;s subsidy on the P20 per kilo rice program would also shrink in the coming years as the government works to help local farmers to improve the yield of the staple grain.&quot;It should come. Habang &#x27;yung production natin gumaganda, bababa nang bababa &#x27;yan,&quot; he said.&quot;As the subsidy becomes less and less, mas magiging malaki ang coverage ng P20 rice,&quot; she said.The President also downplayed criticism that his projects were band-aid solutions for pressing problems, adding that the government has been using borrowings to invest in upskilling Filipinos while &quot;slowly solving&quot; deeply-rooted issues such as the high price of rice and discounts on transportation fares.&quot;Hindi ganoon ang approach namin. We don&#x27;t work according to surveys, not really,&quot; the President said.&quot;All of these things are being done because we have – we have many, many big plans. Malaking proyekto na ginagawa natin na it will take – matagal pa &#x27;yan, nasisimulan pa lang. Matatagalan pa &#x27;yan ngunit, there are many things that we can do that affect people&#x27;s lives and help people&#x27;s lives, make it more easy, cheaper, easier, more convenient, save time – all of those things that are valuable to all of us,&quot; he said.&quot;Eh pagka mayroon kaming nakitang ginagawa, &#x27;yun ang ginagawa namin. It&#x27;s not really to try and do anything,&quot; he addedMarcos also allayed concerns over the Social Security System&#x27;s sustainability after the agency recently announced an increase in pension for its members.&quot;That&#x27;s fine because the SSS is growing anyway. Our population is growing. Our working population is growing. So, &#x27;yun ang bawi doon, it will continue to grow,&quot; he said.&quot;In fact, in our estimation, SSS in terms of its fund is growing at such a rate that it will be bigger than GSIS soon.&quot;The SSS earlier said that the decision to hike pensions is &quot;actuarially sound&quot;, and that this will have a minimal effect on their fund life.

Marcos was asked about the country's debt, which increased by P1.78 trillion or 11.5 percent since June last year.

Marcos was asked about the country's debt, which increased by P1.78 trillion or 11.5 percent since June last year.

Marcos says to 'slowly' bring down Philippines' P17.27-trillion debt

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Marcos says to 'slowly' bring down Philippines' P17.27-trillion debt

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 06, 2025 09:57 PM PHT

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