The Monetary Board (MB) of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) approved $1.10 billion worth of proposed public sector foreign borrowings in the third quarter of the year, which is 71.13 percent less than the $3.81 billion in the same period last year.

The foreign borrowings have medium- to long-term maturities. These consist of two loans for projects on social protection.

Public sector foreign borrowings were recorded at $12.28 billion in the first three quarters of the year.

Under the law, all foreign borrowing proposals by the National Government, government agencies, and government financial institutions as well as loans to be guaranteed by the national government require prior approval of the BSP’s MB.

This is in line with the BSP’s tasks of ensuring that the country’s foreign debt remains manageable. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas