18/08/2025
Navigating a Sea of Debt: A Commendation for the Marcos Jr. Administration's Financial Stewardship:
The full ledger of the country's debts, going back decades. It shows that every leader who has held power has also held the burden of debt. It's a heavy one.
The Debts of the Past
Every leader who has sat in that chair has had to face the same family business.
They each inherited a legacy of debt and left their own for the next man.
When the father of the current President, Ferdinand Marcos Sr., left power, the total external debt had swelled to around $26.2 billion by 1985. A heavy burden, indeed.
Corazon "Cory" Aquino took over and faced a formidable challenge. She chose to honor the massive debt she inherited, but in doing so, her administration also added to the total.
The national debt more than doubled during her term, and at one point, she was saddled with a debt service burden amounting to almost half of the country's exports. The national government debt at the end of her term was P870 billion in 1992, and the country's foreign debt grew by $5 billion within six years.
Fidel V. Ramos continued the struggle. His administration saw a debt increase of P626 billion.
The debt under Joseph "Erap" Estrada reached around P2.1 trillion by the end of his short administration in 2000.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo became the single biggest borrower among the post-EDSA presidents. She inherited a national debt of about P2.17 trillion when she took office in 2001, and by the time she left in 2010, the total debt had more than doubled, reaching P4.582 trillion, with a net addition of over P2.4 trillion.
Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III also saw the debt grow, though at a slower pace, and left the country with a total outstanding debt of about P5.948 trillion in 2016.
Then came Rodrigo Roa Duterte, who, faced with the global crisis, added a monumental amount to the debt.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a huge spike in government spending and borrowing to address the health crisis and provide aid. The national debt grew from P6.09 trillion at the start of his term to P12.79 trillion when he left office, with a net addition of over P7.3 trillion due to the crisis and other spending. This ballooned debt left a staggering amount for his successor.
The Current Administration
And now, we see President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr.'s handiwork.
He has navigated the first half of 2025 by cutting the overall payments by a significant margin, a masterful move on the surface.
But this was achieved by cutting the principal payments, while the interest still accrues.
And the total debt has reached a new high of P17.27 trillion.
So, you see, the true measure is not in a single payment, but in the long game.
President Marcos Jr. is showing that he can manage the books, keep the money flowing, and continue to fund his vision.
This deserves a certain kind of respect.
But the debt, it's like a ghost in the family's house. It grows, and it must one day be reckoned with.
The road ahead is long, and the true success will be measured not by what was paid, but by what was ultimately gained.
Context, Sources in the comments
