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Philippines' Marcos borrows P9.7 trillion in 4 years, highest in 40 years: Ibon Foundation
The Philippine government also loses an estimated P200 billion annually to corruption, undervaluation, and smuggling in its revenue agencies, according to local news channel Bilyonaryo
- PUBLISHED: Thu 16 Jul 2026, 2:41 PM
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the country's biggest borrower among seven administrations in the last 40 years, an independent economic group revealed. Marcos has officially surpassed the Covid-19-driven P9.4 trillion (Dh569 billion) borrowed over the entire six-year Rodrigo Duterte administration.
Marcos has so far borrowed P9.7 trillion (Dh587 billion) in the first four years of his term, said the independent economic group Ibon Foundation, noting that the ever-increasing local and international loans do not actually serve the needs of the Filipino people.
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Ibon executive director Sonny Africa blames the country's wrong policies and taxation laws. The economist cited taxation laws such as the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises (Create) Act and its amendment, Create More, which lowered corporate income taxes for big and foreign businesses.
“It's not helping that tax cuts for big corporations and rich families cost the government P400-500 billion (Dh24.24 billion to Dh30.3 billion) in foregone revenues annually,” Africa underscored.
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Substantial losses due to corruption
The Philippine government also loses substantial amounts due to corruption in its revenue agencies. Local news channel Bilyonaryo reported that as much as P200 billion (Dh12.12 billion) is lost annually due to corruption, undervaluation, and smuggling within the Bureau of Customs. This translates to about 15 to 16 per cent of the agency's yearly revenue collections.
Another agency, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), loses P500 billion (Dh30.3 billion) annually due to corrupt practices, such as abetting tax evasion by businesses and their owners. While the BIR collected a record-high P3.105 trillion (Dh187 billion) last year, it still fell short of its target, largely due to systemic leakages.
Broader corruption across all government sectors drains P1.4 trillion (Dh84 billion) every year, the Philippine Department of Finance admitted.
Is borrowing the only solution?
With less income and overspending due to corruption, the easy solution for the Philippine government is to borrow funds locally and internationally. But borrowed funds from the Philippine government do not automatically benefit ordinary Filipinos, Ibon Foundation reiterated.
“[S]ome 80 centavos out of every peso borrowed goes straight back to debt service, instead of being spent productively to improve the government's revenue-generation or the economy's debt-repaying capacity,” Africa explained.
Africa proposes radical solutions, including stopping “robotically paying all debt,” as well as making more rational decisions about which debts to service.
He also raised the possibility of passing congressional bills that seek to raise taxes on large corporations as well as rich families.
Africa addd: “We should also stop pretending to be an ‘upper middle-income’ economy," noting that the Philippines still has to rely on loans to meet its financial requirements.