The government spent P103.4 billion to settle its debt obligations in the first two months, down by 28 percent from P143 billion a year ago, according to the Bureau of Treasury.
Data from the Treasury showed debt interest payments declined 4.9 percent in the two-month period to P66.874 billion from P70.293 billion recorded in the same period last year.
Interest payments to local creditors declined to P39.453 billion, while interest payments to foreign creditors rose to P27.421 billion.
Debt amortization fell 49.8 percent in the first two months to P36.511 billion from P72.659 billion recorded a year earlier. Of the total amortization, principal payments in the local market dropped to P9.64 billion while principal payments to foreign creditors jumped to P26.863 billion.
The Treasury said in February alone, debt services increased 3.4 percent to P25.215 billion as interest payments offset the drop in principal amortization.
Interest payments grew 12.6 percent in February to P21.28 billion, while amortization fell 28.14 percent to P3.935 billion.
The government’s outstanding obligations reached P5.954 trillion as of end-2015, up by 3.8 percent from P5.735 trillion in 2014.
Meanwhile, national government borrowings declined 2.8 percent to P68.97 billion in the first two months of 2016 from P70.921 billion recorded in the same period last year.
External borrowing fell 78.3 percent to P11.073 billion from P51.031 billion, while domestic borrowing jumped 191.1 percent to P57.89 billion from P19.89 billion.
The government is expected to borrow about P674.8 billion to cover the budget deficit and finance its debt in 2016.
The government plans to raise P570.23 billion from the local financial market and P104.58 billion from foreign sources.
