THE GOVERNMENT’s debt service bill doubled in May, driven by domestic amortization payments, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said.
The national government made payments of P159.1 billion during the month, up 102.96% from a year earlier.
The May total was about six times the total paid out in April.
Of the total payments in May, 86.73%, or P137.99 billion went to principal obligations and P21.11 billion represented interest.
P130.64 billion of the total principal payments went to domestic creditors and P7.35 billion to foreigners.
Meanwhile, P18.63 billion worth of interest payments went to domestic lenders and P2.48 billion to foreign.
In the five months to May, the debt service bill was P385.14 billion, up 9% from a year earlier.
Of the total, P243.7 billion went to principal payments, with P170.21 billion going to domestic lenders, and P73.49 billion to foreign.
A total of P141.45 billion went to interest payments, with P95.08 billion being paid to domestic lenders, and P46.37 billion to foreign.
The government aims to borrow P888.23 billion this year, with 65% sourced domestically. — Elijah Joseph C. Tubayan
