MANILA, Philippines - Outstanding debt of the public sector totaled P5.5 trillion in the first quarter, driven by the higher debt of the financial public sector, data the Finance department released over the weekend showed.

The P5.5-trillion debt was 4.36% more than the P5.27 trillion incurred as of end-December 2008 and 33% more than the P4.12 trillion recorded as of March 2008.

The outstanding debt of the public sector, which consists of the national government, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, state-run corporations and banks, as well as local government units (LGUs), was equivalent to 73.2% of gross domestic product (GDP) as of end-March this year.

Around P2.99 trillion were owed to foreign creditors, while the balance of P2.51 trillion were borrowed from domestic creditors.

The non-financial public sector, consisting of state-run firms, the national government, and LGUs, posted a total debt of P4.48 trillion, equivalent to 59.7% of GDP, and slightly less than the P4.517 trillion recorded in end-December 2008.

"This was mainly due to the decrease in the debt stock of the 14 monitored non-financial government corporations," the department said in a statement. "[The lower debt of the non-financial public sector was] partially offset by the increase of the debt of the financial public sector composed of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas."

The financial public sector -- consisting of the BSP and government financial institutions Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines, as well as the Trade and Investment Development Corporation of the Philippines -- posted a consolidated debt of P1.014 trillion in the first quarter, more than a third higher than the P754 billion recorded as of end-December last year. -- Alexis Douglas B. Romero