The current debt pile is also about 98.1 percent of the expected P14.62 trillion debt by end-2023. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said the new record-high debt level could be attributed to wider budget deficits amid elevated inflation that also bloated government expenditures. This is also due to higher interest rates that raised borrowing costs, a weaker exchange rate that raised the peso equivalent of the government's foreign debts, and continued increase in infrastructure spending. 'For the coming months, new record highs for the outstanding national government debt is still possible in view of the upcoming dollar-denominated retail bond issuance that could reach more than $1 billion,' Ricafort said. 'This is on top of the scheduled issuances of peso-denominated government securities, all of which help finance the country's budget deficit, though offset by some maturing securities,' he said.