THE national government's debt service bill breached the P1-trillion mark in the first four months of 2026 as principal repayments surged.
Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) data showed that debt service payments ballooned to P1.052 trillion in January to April, 68.9-percent higher than the P622.921 billion seen in the same period last year.
Debt service refers to payments made by the government to settle both interest and principal obligations on its outstanding debt.
The January-April increase was largely driven by a sharp rise in amortization, or principal repayments, which more than doubled to P715.634 billion from P335.474 billion.
Interest payments also rose, by 17.1 percent to P336.656 billion, from P287.447 billion.
Principal repayments accounted for nearly 68 percent of total debt service payments in the first four months of the year.
Domestic amortization surged by 270 percent to P630.367 billion from P170.403 billion a year earlier. In contrast, external amortization declined by 48.3 percent to P85.267 billion from P165.071 billion.
Domestic interest payments, meanwhile, increased by 21.6 percent to P254.285 billion from P209.032 billion in the same period in 2025.
External interest payments slipped 0.2 percent to P82.371 billion from P78.415 billion.
In April alone, debt service payments rose by 12.1 percent in April to P314.885 billion from P280.898 billion a year earlier.
Interest payments climbed by 36.8 percent to P63.525 billion from P46.446 billion.
In particular, domestic interest payments rose to P42.894 billion from P30.470 billion while external interest payments increased to P20.631 billion from P15.976 billion.
Amortization payments also grew by 7.2 percent to P251.360 billion from P234.452 billion. Of the total, domestic repayments amounted to P243.632 billion while external repayments reached P7.728 billion.
The national government’s (NG) outstanding debt fell in April as domestic payments offset the impact of a weaker peso on the country’s foreign obligations.
Outstanding debt stood at P18.47 trillion as of the end of the month, down by P17.54 billion, or 0.09 percent, from the P18.49 trillion recorded in March.
Domestic obligations continued to account for the bulk of the government’s debt portfolio, representing 67.22 percent of total outstanding debt, while external borrowings made up the remaining 32.78 percent.
In contrast, external debt increased by P101.64 billion, or 1.71 percent, to P6.06 trillion from P5.95 trillion a month earlier due to peso depreciation. NIÑA MYKA PAULINE ARCEO
