Philippines paid less debt in October

MANILA, Philippines — The national government settled P25.2 billion in debt last October, lower than a year ago as both amortization and interest payments declined.

The latest Bureau of the Treasury data showed that the amount of debt paid at the start of the fourth quarter was 14-percent below the P29.2 billion in October last year.

Last October, interest payments amounted to P20.7 billion, down from P24 billion a year ago.

In a report, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) attributed the lower interest payments that month to “high base effect from October 2018 payments and premiums from bond re-issuances.”

The government in October paid P13.7 billion in interest for government securities issued in the domestic market, while P7 billion were for foreign debt.

Primary amortization also declined to P4.5 billion from P5.2 billion during the same month in 2018.

Amortization payments last October included P564 million for domestic borrowings on top of P3.9 billion covering external obligations.

At the end of the first 10 months, total debt payments reached P583.4 billion – P314.5 billion in interest and P268.9 billion in amortization.