The national government's debt payments grew by four percent to ₱1.93 trillion in the first 10 months of the year, from ₱1.86 trillion in the same period last year, even after a sharp decline in October settlements.

Data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed the single-digit increase in January to October debt settlements was primarily driven by a double-digit jump in interest payments to domestic and foreign lenders.

Amortization, which made up 62.6 percent of the total, slightly decreased by 0.8 percent to ₱1.21 trillion as of end-October, from ₱1.22 trillion a year earlier. The government cut amortization to foreign lenders by 8.9 percent to ₱202.4 billion from ₱222.2 billion.

Meanwhile, amortization to domestic lenders edged up to ₱1 trillion during the period from ₱999.7 billion in the same period last year.

Interest payments, accounting for 37.4 percent of the total, climbed 13.2 percent to ₱723.2 billion from ₱638.7 billion a year earlier. Domestic lenders received ₱536.2 billion in interest payments since January, an 18.2 percent rise from ₱453.5 billion a year ago.

Interest payments on government securities rose across the board, with fixed-rate Treasury Bonds (T-bonds) rising to ₱367.1 billion from ₱296.5 billion, Retail Treasury Bonds (RTBs) edging up to ₱122.5 billion from ₱117.9 billion, and Treasury Bills (T-bills) climbing to ₱38.2 billion from ₱28.4 billion a year earlier. Interest payments on the government’s other domestic obligations were lower as of end-October, at ₱8.4 billion from ₱10.7 billion a year earlier.

Interest payments on external obligations also inched up by 3.8 percent to ₱171.5 billion from ₱165.2 billion. A separate report showed a one percent increase to ₱187 billion from ₱185.2 billion.

Total debt payments in October alone plunged 69.7 percent year-on-year to ₱65.8 billion from ₱216.9 billion in the same month last year. Amortization during the month dropped significantly by 94.8 percent to ₱8.4 billion from the ₱161.5 billion the government settled in October 2024. The decline in amortization was not offset by interest payments, which only increased by 3.6 percent to ₱57.4 billion from ₱55.4 billion a year ago.

As of end-October, the national government’s outstanding debt nearly exceeded the historic high of ₱17.563 trillion posted in July, a result of the government’s increased borrowing from both local and foreign lenders, compounded by the recent peso slump.