State debt service up

State economists earlier said the government’s debt level remains manageable and will remain so as the administration spends prudently in addition to positive market outlooks

The country’s debt payments rose in the first four months of the year compared to the same period a year ago, data from the Bureau of Treasury (BTr) show.

The BTr said the national government (NG) raised its debt payments totaling P585.79 billion as of end-April 2021, higher by 19.96 percent from the recorded P488.31 billion in the first four months of last year.

A big chunk of the debt servicing, or P436.11 billion of the overall stock, went to domestic and external amortization, significantly larger than the listed P346.55 billion in the same comparable period in 2020.

Interest payments from January to April 2021 stood at P149.67 billion, with P108.11 billion released to settle domestic debt while the remaining P41.56 billion were paid to foreign liabilities.

The NG’s total debt service reached P64.28 billion for April alone, a 56.66 percent decline from the registered P148.34 billion in the same month last year.

Similarly, the total amortization payments of P40.46 billion represented a notable drop from the P126.46 billion in the same comparable period.

Meanwhile, the total interest payments went up to P23.81 billion compared to last year’s P21.88 billion.

State economists earlier said the government’s debt level remains manageable and will remain so as the administration spends prudently in addition to positive market outlooks.

Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III added the government has sufficient reserves and maintains a solid fiscal position to service all foreign and domestic borrowings.

Dominguez pointed out the country’s outstanding external debt only accounted for 25.2 percent of its gross national income, indicating that the government is in “a strong position to service foreign borrowings in the medium- to long-term.”