The national government's debt service bill accelerated in the first nine-months of the year, primarily driven by higher amortization payments, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.

Between January and September, the Marcos administration's debt payments surged by 57 percent to reach P1.4 trillion, compared to P889.8 billion in the same period the previous year.

The end-September amount was only 9.8 percent below the P1.552-trillion debt service program set for the entire year.

Treasury data indicated that amortization payments nearly doubled to P940.2 billion in the first three quarters, up from P489.9 billion in the corresponding period last year.

These amortization payments accounted for 67.15 percent of the total debt service bill during that period, while the remainder went toward interest payments.

Breaking down the figures, principal payments to domestic lenders rose by 109 percent to P852 billion from P407.9 billion in 2022.

Payments to external creditors also increased, albeit at a slower pace, by 7.7 percent to P88.2 billion from P81.9 billion a year ago.

Meanwhile, interest payments saw a 15 percent jump to P460.1 billion between January and September, compared to P399.9 billion in 2022.

Interest payments on domestic debt recorded a more modest increase of 3.6 percent, reaching P317.3 billion from P306.2 billion.

This figure includes P12.62 billion in Treasury bills, P188.3 billion in fixed-rate Treasury bonds, and P112.8 billion in retail Treasury bonds.

The Treasury regularly conducts the sale of government securities on a weekly basis to generate funds for the projects and programs of the current administration under President Marcos.

In September alone, the debt service bill posted an uptick, with a 15 percent surge from P207 billion to P239 billion when compared to the same month in the previous year.

Data from the Treasury revealed that amortization payments registered a notable rise of 14 percent, from P147.1 billion to P167.5 billion.

These amortization payments accounted for 70 percent of the total debt service bill for the month of September.

According to the Treasury, the total outstanding debt of the national government amounted to P14.27 trillion at the end of September 2023.

This figure represents a decrease of P80.9 billion or 0.6 percent compared to the previous month.

The decline can be attributed to net repayments made on both domestic and external obligations during that period.

Out of the total debt stock, 31.8 percent is sourced from external lenders, while the remaining 68.2 percent is derived from domestic borrowings.