MANILA, Philippines - In a significant financial move, the Philippines ramped up its debt repayments in 2023, with the Bureau of Treasury revealing that the national government allocated PHP1.60 trillion towards settling its obligations. This figure marks a 23.9 percent increase from the PHP1.29 trillion paid in 2022, surpassing the PHP1.55 trillion initially projected by authorities for the year's debt servicing efforts.
According to Philippines News Agency, the bulk of the 2023 payments, totaling PHP975.27 billion, was dedicated to amortizing the principal debt. This represented a 23.4 percent rise from the PHP790.32 billion paid in 2022 for the same purpose. Interest payments also saw a significant uptick, increasing by 24.9 percent to PHP628.33 billion from PHP502.85 billion the previous year. The detailed breakdown indicates that PHP435.74 billion of these interest payments were made to domestic lenders, while foreign creditors received PHP192.59 billion.
The government's aggressive approach to debt repayment comes at a time when its total outstanding debt reached PHP14.62 trillion at the end of December last year, highlighting the ongoing challenges in managing the nation's financial liabilities.