THE national government has reported a P47.211-billion payment for its debt during the month of July, pushing the seven-month total to P463.109 billion, data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed.
Based on BTr data, the government released P47.211 billion in July in payment for some of its debt, a figure that was 52.6 percent lower than the P99.660 billion recorded in the same month last year. The latest data also showed that interest payments, P44.841 billion of the total, outpaced amortization for the month, P2.370 billion.
Interest payments showed a slight uptick of 0.4 percent compared to last year’s P44.628 billion, while amortization dipped 95.6 percent from the P55.034 billion made in July 2017.
Under interest payments, the government made payments of P577 million for Treasury bills, P17.425 billion for fixed-rate Treasury bonds, P6.624 billion for retail Treasury bonds and P20.521 billion for foreign interest payments.
In line with amortization, redemptions accounted for P273 million, which was made solely for payments to agrarian-reform beneficiaries (ARBs) for the month, while foreign amortization accounted for P2.097 billion of the total.
From January to July this year, the government allocated P463.109 billion for its debt servicing activities, expanding by 3.1 percent compared to the P478.029 billion made in the same period for 2017.
Broken down, amortization of P252.758 billion for the first seven months of the year outpaced that of interest payments at P210.351 billion.
The government borrows funds both from onshore and offshore lenders to support its various programs, including its infrastructure buildup projects and social programs, among others.
During the first half of the year, the national government’s debt payments amounted to P415.898 billion, with amortization outpacing interest payments for the period. The first-half total was 9.9 percent higher than the P378.369 billion made in the same period for 2017.