The national government’s debt payments rose by 21.57 percent in the first five months of 2021, as both amortization and interest payments went up from year ago levels, 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 May amounted to P623.59 billion, up from the P512.96 billion paid out in the same period in 2020.
Amortization jumped by 26.11 percent to P444.99 billion from the P352.85 billion paid out in the same period a year ago.
Of the total principal payments made during the period, P291.81 billion was used to pay local lenders while P153.18 billion was spent to settle foreign obligations.
Meanwhile, interest payments as of May totaled to P178.61 billion, 11.55 percent higher than the P160.12 billion paid out as of the same period the previous year.
Of the said amount, P132.23 billion was paid to domestic creditors while P46.38 billion was for international debt.
For the month of May, debt payments jumped by 53.4 percent to P37.8 billion from P24.64 billion a year ago.
Amortization went up by 40.99 percent to P8.87 billion, while interest payments rose 57.65 percent to P28.93 billion.
In an earlier statement, the BTr said interest payments posted an increase in May due to the coupon payment for retail treasury bonds issued in 2020 and reissuances of fixed rate treasury bonds. – Angela Celis
