Debt payments reach P221 billion in November

MANILA, Philippines —  The national government’s debt payments jumped to P221.84 billion last November as the government settled maturing domestic bonds during the period, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) reported.

According to the latest data from the BTr, debt service in November 2019 surged 473.42 percent to P221.84 billion from P38.69 billion a year ago.

This brought the government’s total debt payments to P805.26 billion from January to November 2019, 16.98 percent up from P688.41 billion in the same period of 2018.

This already accounts for 90.7 percent of the P887.91 billion program for debt settlements in 2019.

The government allots a portion of its budget obligations on a monthly basis, depending on their maturity.

Based on Treasury data, bulk or P204.56 billion of the total debt service last November came in the form of principal payments, while the remaining P17.29 billion was for interest payments.

Amortization, for their part, jumped almost 15 times as compared to the P14.03 billion recorded in November 2018.

Of the total principal payments, P197.37 billion went to domestic lenders, while P7.19 billion was paid to foreign creditors.

On a year-to-date basis, the BTr said the government spent P473.51 billion for amortization, 28.53 percent up from the previous year’s level of P368.4 billion.

On the other hand, Treasury data showed that interest payments last November declined by 29.9 percent to P17.29 billion from P24.66 billion a year earlier.

“November interest payments totaled P17.3 billion, down 29.9 percent from the previous year due to matured bonds and the receipt of settlement premia from the reissuance of outstanding series,” the BTr said in an earlier statement.

The Treasury said P13.94 billion of this amount was paid to domestic lenders, while the remaining P3.35 billion went to external creditors.

Despite the decline, cumulative interest payments from January to November 2019 grew 3.67 percent to P331.75 billion from P320 billion in 2018.

Debt payments form part of the government’s expenditures.

In 2018, the national government settled P775.59 billion in debt, almost 14 percent higher than P680.47 billion in 2017.