Gov’t debt payments down in Jan-Apr

THE AMOUNT of debt paid by the government in the first four months dropped 15 percent to P220.6 billion as payments for both principal amortization and interest declined.

The latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed that the government’s end-April debt payments slid from P260.6 billion a year ago.

From January to April, the government paid P117.4 billion in interest, down from P116.3 billion last year.

The bulk of the interest paid worth P73.4 billion was for domestic debt, mainly through the sale of Treasury bills and bonds. The remaining P44 billion in interest payments was for foreign borrowings.

During the four-month period, the government also paid P103.2 billion in amortization, down from P144.3 billion in 2015.

Amortization payments for foreign debt amounted P60.6 billion, while P42.6 billion was paid for domestic borrowings.

In April alone, the government settled P45.2 billion in debt, of which P30.4 billion went to amortization payments on top of P14.8 billion in interest paid.

For 2016, the government had allocated P419.3 billion or 14 percent of the P3.002-trillion national budget into debt servicing.