End-August debt payments down 28.7%

The government paid 28.7 percent less at the end of August 2014 than the amount of debt it paid during the same period last year, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

The national government’s debt service level during the January to August period amounted to P303.228 billion, lower than the P425.085 billion in the first eight months of 2013.

As of end-August, P228.563 billion was remitted for interest payments, smaller by only 0.14 percent from P228.875 billion last year.

For amortization, P74.665 billion was set aside during the eight-month period, lower by 61.9 percent compared with last year’s P196.210 billion.

In the month of August alone, payments of interest and amortization combined reached P25.293 billion, down 38.1 percent from the P40.888 billion paid in the same month last year.

Also, debt servicing in August was just almost half of the P50.427 billion allotted last July.

The debt payments last August were the third lowest on a monthly basis so far this year, exceeding February’s P20.432 billion and June’s P23.878 billion.

Amortization payments made in August worth P4.695 billion were over double of the P2.203 billion paid in July.