Gov’t debt service declined in first 7 months

The amount in debt that the government paid back in the first seven months of the year was over a fourth less than what it settled in the same period last year.

Amortization payments likewise dipped during the period.

According to the latest data from the Bureau of Treasury (BTr), debt servicing from January to July totaled P277.935 billion—down 27.7 percent from the P384.198 billion settled in the same period of 2013.

As of end-July, P207.965 billion were remitted for interest payments. This year’s payments for interest were lower than last year’s P210.645 billion.

For amortization, the government set aside P69.970 billion—59.7 percent lower than the P173.552 billion paid during the same period last year.

In the month of July alone, combined payments of interest and amortization totaled P50.427 billion—less than the P67.815 billion paid in the same month of 2013.

But debt servicing in July was more than double of what was paid in June, when government payment reached P23.878 billion.

Amortization payments were significantly lower in July. That month, the government paid only P2.203 billion, down from the P14.305 billion reported in the same month last year.

Amortization payments in July were the lowest since that of 2011, when the amount settled reached P1.948 billion, BTr data showed.