The national government’s debt payments rose by 19.96 percent in the first four months of 2021, as both amortization and interest payments went up, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.
According to data posted on the BTr’s website, the amount settled in January to April amounted to P585.79 billion, up from the P488.32 billion paid out in the same period in 2020.
Amortization jumped by 25.84 percent to P436.12 billion from the P346.56 billion paid out in the same period a year ago.
Of the total principal payments made during the period, P291.02 billion was used to pay local lenders while P145.1 billion was spent to settle foreign obligations.
Meanwhile, interest payments as of April totaled to P149.68 billion, 5.58 percent higher than the P141.76 billion paid out as of the same period the previous year.
Of the said amount, P108.11 billion was paid to domestic creditors while P41.56 billion was for international debt.
For the month of April, debt payments declined by 56.66 percent to P64.29 billion from P148.34 billion a year ago.
Amortization fell by 68 percent to P40.47 billion, while interest payments rose 8.86 percent to P23.82 billion.
In an earlier statement, the BTr said interest payments for the month increased largely due to coupon payments for reissued treasury bonds.
For this year, debt service payments is expected to rise to P1.79 trillion.
The lion’s share will be for principal payments with P1.26 trillion, while the remaining P531.55 billion will be for interest payments.
