Gov’t debt payments up 12% in April

MANILA, Philppines – The Philippine government’s debt service bill climbed in April after a surge in interest payments, pushing total servicing past the trillion-peso mark in the first four months of the year.

Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that the Marcos administration paid a total of P314.9 billion to creditors at home and abroad in April, up 12 percent from the P280.9 billion recorded in the same month last year.

READ: PH March debt payments eased 8%

This brought total debt service payments from January to April to P1.052 trillion, rising 68.9 percent from P622.9 billion a year earlier. The amount has already reached more than half, or 52.5 percent, of the government’s P2.005-trillion debt service program for 2026.

April’s increase was driven largely by a 36.8-percent surge in interest payments, which reached P63.5 billion.

Interest payments have remained elevated since the start of the year, bringing the four-month total to P336.7 billion, up 17 percent from the same period last year. The amount also accounts for 35.4 percent of the government’s P950-billion interest payment program for 2026.

Of the interest payments, domestic creditors received P42.9 billion, up 40.8 percent year on year, while payments to foreign lenders rose 29.1 percent to P20.6 billion.

Principal repayments, or amortization, also increased, rising 7.2 percent to P251.4 billion in April from P234.5 billion a year earlier.

More than double

As a result, total amortization payments in the first four months reached P715.6 billion, more than twice the year-earlier level. The amount represents 67.8 percent of the government’s P1.055-trillion amortization program for 2026.

Principal repayments to domestic creditors surged 43.5 percent to P243.6 billion in April. In contrast, payments on external debt principal fell 88 percent to just P7.7 billion.

The national government’s outstanding debt stood at P18.47 trillion as of end-April, slightly lower than the P18.49 trillion recorded at end-March.

The Treasury said the decline reflected the net repayment of domestic securities, which offset the impact of the peso’s depreciation on the country’s foreign-currency obligations.

For 2026, the Marcos administration is targeting a budget deficit of P1.65 trillion, equivalent to 5.3 percent of gross domestic product. INQ