THE national government's (NG) outstanding debt hit a new record high of P15.69 trillion in July, the Bureau of the Treasury reported on Tuesday. A total of P206.49 billion was added to the debt tally from June's P15.48 trillion, the Treasury bureau said, and the count was also P1.45 trillion higher than year-earlier P14.24 trillion. The rise was attributed to the "net issuance of both domestic and external debt." Of the total debt stock, 31.46 percent was borrowed abroad while 68.54 percent was sourced domestically. Domestic debt hit P10.75 trillion as of end-July, higher than the P10.57 trillion in June and the year-earlier P9.8 trillion. The increase was due to P180.52 billion in new government securities, slightly offset by a P490-million decrease from the peso's appreciation against the US dollar. Compared to the end of December 2023, domestic debt was P735.22 billion or 7.3 percent higher. Year on year, it was up by P940.78 billion or 9.6 percent. External debt, meanwhile, totaled P4.94 trillion as of end-July, 0.5 percent or P26.45 billion higher from the P4.91 trillion as of end-June. The rise was a larger 7.4 percent, or P338.5 billion, from December's P4.6 trillion and 11.4 percent, or P504.91 billion, from the year-earlier P4.43 trillion. "The rise in external debt can be attributed to the net availments of project loans of P5.25 billion and third-currency upward revaluation of P35.44 billion, albeit partially attenuated by the P14.23-billion impact of peso appreciation against the US dollar," the Treasury said. Guaranteed obligations, meanwhile, fell by P1.14 billion or 0.3 percent to P344.79 billion as of end-July from a month earlier. The increase was driven by a P3.57-billion gain from third-currency adjustments against the dollar, which outweighed a P1.96-billion drop from net repayments and a P470-million reduction due to a stronger peso. Guaranteed debt was 1.3 percent, or P4.65 billion, lower from the end of December last year and also fell by 5.1 percent, or P18.60 billion, year on year. Outstanding NG debt is expected to hit P16.06 trillion this year, up from the previous projection of P15.84 trillion. The projection for 2025 is P17.35 trillion, with domestic debt seen accounting for the bulk at P11.98 trillion. The remaining P5.38 trillion will come from external debt.