Govt debt payments up in June - BTr

DEBT payments made by the government rose in June but the year to date total remained lower compared to the same period in 2016.

Bureau of Treasury data showed P25.04 billion as having been forwarded to creditors in June, 7.9 percent higher year on year.

Interest payments, which accounted for the bulk or 76.9 percent, rose by 9.1 percent to P19.27 billion.

Domestic interest payments took the lion’s share at P15.06 billion, up 9 percent, while foreign debt – which rose by 6.9 percent – comprised P4.2 billion.

Amortization expenses, meanwhile, were up 4.08 percent to P5.77 billion and accounted for the remainder of total debt payments.

Almost all, or P5.55 billion, comprised foreign debt amortization and the amount was 3.9 percent higher from last year.

Domestic amortization, at P219 million, increased by 6.8 percent.

June’s results pushed first half debt payments to P378.36 billion, down 25.9 percent from last year.

The government’s outstanding debt stood at P6.41 trillion as of end-June, up 7.9 percent.

The Treasury want to cap the national government debt at P6.47 trillion this year, equivalent to 40.76% of gross domestic product.

It is up from the P6.09 trillion recorded last year but is lower than the P6.52 trillion previously programmed for 2017.

“We expect a very big revenue collection from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BoC),” National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon said.

The BIR has a P1.78 trillion collection target for this year while the BoC is expected to net P459.64 billion.