THE country’s debt pay-ments as of August rose by nearly 20 percent year on year and are almost on a par with the figure recorded for the whole of 2020, according to data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
The BTr data showed debt payments grew 19.56 percent to P909.411 billion in January to August 2021 from P760.654 billion in the same period last year.
The figure posted in the January to August period was already 94.49 percent of the full-year debt payments worth P962.466 billion in 2020.
Total amortization payments in the January to August period reached P617.92 billion in 2021, 25.84 percent higher than the P491.045 billion posted in the same period last year.
Interest payments, meanwhile, amounted to P291.491 billion in January to August 2021, 8.12 percent higher than the P269.609 billion interest payments made in the same period last year.
In the full year of 2020, amortization payments made reached a total of P582.054 billion while interest payments reached P380.412 billion.
Lower in August
Meanwhile, in August 2021, debt payments contracted 50.73 percent to P75.086 billion from P152.396 billion.
The bulk of the debt payments went to making amortization payments worth P51.154 billion in August 2021. This was a 60.6-percent contraction from the amortization payments worth P129.847 billion made in August 2020
In terms of interest payments, BTr data showed it reached P23.932 billion in August 2021. This was a 6.13-percent growth from the P22.549 billion interest payments made in August 2020.
This year, the government has programmed P1.29 trillion for its debt service, with P758.32 billion allotted for principal amortization and P531.55 billion in interest payments.
Earlier, gross borrowings by the national government as of August settled at P2.39 trillion, slightly lower than the same period last year.
Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed gross borrowings dipping by 3.3 percent from P2.47 trillion recorded a year ago, as the government borrowed less from both domestic and foreign sources.
Gross domestic borrowings fell to P1.93 trillion during the eight-month period from last year’s P1.96 trillion.