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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Marcos admin to cough up P1.6T in debt payment next year

Marcos admin to cough up P1.6T in debt payment next year

Published Aug 26, 2022 04:33 pm

Independent minority congressman, Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman took it upon himself Friday, Aug. 26 to inform Filipinos about what the Marcos administration would really be spending on debt payments in 2023.

(Screenshot from Zoom meeting)

The total amount? A whopping P1.6 trillion.

National Treaasurer Rosalia de Leon confirmed this to Lagman during the first day of deliberations on the 2023 National Expenditure Program (NEP) or proposed budget by the House Committee on Appropriations.

"So, to a layman, what is the answer to this question: What is the total expenditure of this government to service our debts in 2023?" Lagman asked the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) panel members who attended the mixed live and virtual hearing.

"It would be P1.6 trillion, including both principal and interest payments," De Leon said.

"In other words", the Bicol solon said, "We should show the public the universe, not only a portion of the universe."

The NEP for next year is worth P5.268 trillion, the biggest in the country’s history. It is the first full-year budget proposal of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.

Lagman noted earlier in the deliberation that that the proposed budget only contains the P611 billion that will be paid for interest of the debt and net lending.

"This...only gives us a part of the universe. Because this would not include the totality of what the government is going to pay as debt service in 2023. Because the totality is not limited to the interest payment and net lending but also principal amortization," said the former appropriations panel chairman.

"And I reckon the total would be in the vicinity of P1.6 trillion," added Lagman, employing simple arithmetic.

De Leon explained why the NEP didn't show the total debt service for 2023.

"The total debt service your honor, it would be P1.6 trillion. But what's only provided in the budget would be the interest payments of P582 billion, because the P1 trillion that represents the amortization payments are also covered by previous appropriations because this is just financing the earlier expenditures. So there's no need anymore to put it under the budget," she said.

"We know that, because what is in the proposed budget is only the interest payments," Lagman replied.

"But in order to present to the public what this government is going to pay in totality for debt service or debt burden, we should be able to tell the public both the interest payments and the principal amortization for the coming year," he stressed.

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