The government spent P406.82 billion from January to July to service debts, 0.6 percent less than the P409.37 billion it paid in the same period last year, according to data from the Department of Finance.

About P282.35 billion went to domestic obligations and P124.47 billion to foreign debts.

In July, the government paid P55.1 billion, down 6.4 percent from P58.85 billion a year earlier, the data show.

January-July principal debt payments totaled P232.6 billion, down 6.9 percent from P249.88 billion in the same months last year. Interest payments amounted to P174.22 billion, up 9.2 percent from P159.49 billion.

The government incurred less short-term debts from January to July than in the same period last year as internally generated funds increased.

Finance officials said the increase in interest payments was partly caused by higher interest rates on government securities, reflecting rising inflation.

Interest payments are expected to account for less than 30 percent of this year’s national budget, the officials said. In the previous years, they accounted for at least 33 percent, they said. Michelle V. Remo; edited by INQUIRER.net