APPROVED public sector foreign borrowings went down by almost 50 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said on Monday.

At $2.87 billion, the amount was 48 percent lower than the $5.56 billion approved by the central bank's policymaking Monetary Board in the same period last year.

It was also lower than the $3.32 billion approved in the fourth quarter of 2023.

The authorized borrowings for the first three months of 2024 comprised two project loans totaling $850 million and five program loans worth an aggregate $2.02 billion.

The borrowings, the BSP said, will be used for government infrastructure projects ($850 million) and health care policy reform programs ($910 million), digital transformation ($410 million), tax administration ($400 million), and inclusive finance development ($300 million).

Under the 1987 Constitution, foreign loans to be contracted or guaranteed by the Philippine government must first be approved by the Monetary Board.

Letter of Instruction 158, dated Jan. 21, 1974, also states that all foreign borrowing proposals by the national government, government agencies and government financial institutions must be submitted to the Monetary Board for approval-in-principle before actual negotiations start.

"The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas promotes the judicious use of the resources and ensures that external debt requirements are at manageable levels, to support external debt sustainability," the central bank said.

Foreign borrowing approvals totaled $14.49 billion last year, up from 2022's $10.32 billion, as the government sought to finance a budget deficit.