The national government’s total debt payments in the first nine months of the year jumped by 17.39 percent as both amortization and interest payments rose from the previous year’s level, data released by the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.
According to the latest cash operations report, the national government’s debt payments in January to September stood at P1.64 trillion, higher than the P1.4 trillion recorded during the same period a year ago.
Amortization rose by 12.8 percent, to P1.06 trillion from the P940.19 billion paid out in January to September 2023.
On the other hand, interest payments as of September totaled to P583.29 billion, which went up 26.77 percent from the P460.12 billion paid out as of the same period in the previous year.
In September alone, debt payments amounted to P93.61 billion, down 60.83 percent from the year ago level of P239 billion.
Amortization amounted to P19.76 billion, while interest payments totaled to P73.85 billion.
The BTr earlier announced that the national government’s budget deficit as of end-September fell within the deficit ceiling for the nine-month period as revenues outperformed its program faster than expenditures.
The budget deficit stood at P970.2 billion in January to September, 9.08 percent below the program of P1.07 trillion.
Revenues for the period surpassed the target by 4.53 percent, whereas expenditures was higher than program by 1.09 percent.
Year-on-year, the nine-month budget deficit narrowed by 1.35 percent compared to the P983.5 billion budget shortfall in January to September 2023.
Revenues also grew at a faster pace year-on-year as it posted a 16.04 percent expansion, while expenditures grew by 11.56 percent.
In September alone, the deficit widened by 8.9 percent to P273.3 billion from last year’s P250.9 billion, as the increase of nominal value of expenditures outpaced the increase in revenues.
