Gov’t debt payment down 16% in Q1

The government’s debt payments declined 16 percent year-on-year to P208.3 billion in the first quarter as it amortized less on principal at the start of the year.

The amount of debt paid by the national government from January to March dropped from P248.7 billion a year ago, the latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed.

End-March amortization went down to P101 billion from P150.8 billion in the first three months of last year.

Interest payments, however, jumped to P107.2 billion from P97.9 billion a year ago.

The amount of interest paid by the government in the first quarter slightly exceeded the P105.2 billion programmed for the three-month period.

In March alone, the government settled P33.9 billion in debt–P27.5 billion in interest on top of P6.4 billion in amortization.

The debt payment in March was lower than a month ago’s P90.6 billion as well as a year ago’s P92.1 billion.

Under the 2018 national budget, the government had programmed to pay P682.5 billion in debt this year, down from P705 billion in 2017.

In 2018, the government will settle P353.4 billion in interest and P329.1 billion in principal amortization.

e