The Monetary Board has approved lower government borrowings from foreign sources from January to March this year.

In a statement Monday, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said its Monetary Board has approve a total of $2.87 billion foreign borrowings in the first quarter of 2024, which is 48-percent lower than the $5.56 billion approved foreign loans in the same quarter in 2023.

“These consist of two project loans aggregating to $0.85 billion, and five program loans aggregating to $2.02 billion,” the BSP said.

The BSP said the two project loans worth $850 million will be spent on infrastructure projects.

Meanwhile, the national government’s (NG) $2.02-billion foreign borrowings will be spent on policy reforms on healthcare at $910 million, $410 million on digital transformation, $400 million on tax administration, and $300 million on inclusive finance development.

The amount of the NG’s foreign borrowings for the first quarter of 2024 was also lower than the $3.32-billion loan in the previous quarter.

Under the Constitution, any foreign borrowings to be contracted or guaranteed by the NG shall have prior approval from the BSP through its Monetary Board.