Manila: The country's total outstanding debt slightly increased by 0.8 percent to PHP16.02 trillion as of end-October, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) on Tuesday showed. "The increase was primarily driven by the valuation impact of peso depreciation against the US dollar from 56.017 at end-September 2024 to 58.198 at end-October 2024," the BTr said. According to Philippines News Agency, domestic debt, which accounted for about 67.98 percent of the total debt stock, amounted to PHP10.89 trillion, 0.4 percent lower than the end-September level. The BTr said the decline was primarily due to the PHP52.65 billion net redemption of government securities, partially offset by the PHP6.23 billion escalation in peso conversion of US dollar-denominated domestic debt due to the weakened peso. The total external debt, meanwhile, went up by 3.5 percent to PHP5.13 trillion. "The increase was driven by net foreign loan availments totaling PHP20.47 billion, as well as foreign exchange movements, which adde d PHP152.90 billion to external debt," the BTr said. It noted that the impact of peso depreciation against the US dollar also increased external debt.