In September, the National Government’s debt service payments decreased by over 36%, reaching P207.46 billion, compared to P327.89 billion in September of the previous year, according to the Bureau of the Treasury. This decline was primarily due to reduced amortization payments. However, month-on-month, the figure increased significantly by 172.56% from August’s P76.12 billion.
Debt service covers principal and interest payments on the government’s domestic and foreign debt. More than half, or 58.75%, of September’s payments went toward amortization. The NG’s principal repayment dropped by 50.49% to P121.89 billion from P246.19 billion a year earlier.
Amortization payments on domestic debt fell sharply by 53.7% to P109.97 billion from P237.93 billion a year before. Payments on foreign debt rose by 44.26% to P11.92 billion from P8.26 billion. Meanwhile, interest payments increased by 4.73% to P85.57 billion in September from P81.7 billion in the same month in 2025.
Interest payments on domestic debt rose by 5.78% to P69.05 billion, with P44.67 billion going to fixed-rate Treasury bonds, P19.09 billion to retail Treasury bonds, and P5.25 billion to Treasury bills. These consisted of P404.52 billion for fixed-rate Treasury bonds, P131.24 billion for retail Treasury bonds, P41.15 billion for Treasury bills, and P7.82 billion for interest payments for other domestic borrowings. Interest for foreign borrowings inched up by 0.57% to P16.53 billion from P16.43 billion a year prior.
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For the first nine months, the government’s debt service bill declined by 11.69% to P1.65 trillion from P1.87 trillion in the same period last year. Principal payments accounted for 53.22% of the total, falling by 26.99% to P878.21 billion. Domestic principal payments dropped by 26.37% to P741.01 billion, while external principal payments declined by 30.17% to P137.2 billion.
Rising Interest Costs, Debt Stock
Total interest payments for the January-to-September period stood at P772.05 billion, up by 15.95% from P665.85 billion a year earlier. Domestic interest payments jumped by 18.27% to P584.74 billion. Foreign interest payments rose by 9.25% to P187.32 billion.
The NG’s outstanding debt reached a fresh high of P19.66 trillion at end-September, up by 0.27% or P53.47 billion from August. Year on year, outstanding debt rose by 12.63% from P17.46 trillion. Year to date, it jumped by 11.03% from P17.71 trillion at end-2025. The peso strengthened by 11 centavos to close at P63.74 per dollar on Friday, though it weakened by P1.10 month on month.
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