Government debt payments ease 4% in November

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January 5, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The national government’s debt servicing eased in November 2025, largely due to a substantial reduction in amortization payments which offset the increase in interest payments on both domestic and external obligations.

Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed that the government cut its debt payments by four percent to P89.97 billion in November 2025 from P93.7 billion a year ago.

The decline followed a comparable annual decrease recorded in October 2025, marking a continuation of the downward trend in year-on-year terms.

About 86 percent of the debt service pile consisted of interest payments, amounting to P77.29 billion for the period. It is higher by nearly 16 percent than the P66.65 billion recorded in November 2024.

Interest payments on domestic debt increased by 16.2 percent to P56.88 billion, up from P48.93 billion recorded in the same period in 2024, reflecting higher servicing costs for locally sourced borrowings.

The government issued P32.22 billion in fixed-rate Treasury bonds (T-bonds), P21.1 billion retail T-bonds and P3 billion Treasury bills (T-bills) for November 2025.

The Treasury holds weekly auctions of government securities to raise funds that support the financing of key public services, infrastructure programs and development initiatives benefiting communities nationwide.

Short-term T-bills mature in 91, 182, or 364 days and offer quicker turnover, while longer-dated T-bonds run for up to 20 years, providing the government with more stable and predictable funding over the long term.

In November, external interest payments declined by 15.2 percent to P20.41 billion from P17.72 billion recorded in November 2024.

Meanwhile, the remaining 14 percent of the debt service pile was allocated to amortization spending, amounting P12.68 billion.

This indicates that the government’s expenditures on repaying principal of loans were 53.1 percent lower compared to the P27.05 billion it spent in the same period a year ago, pointing to a lower volume of securities reaching maturity.

Amortization spending refers to the allocation of funds for the repayment of loan principals, a process that gradually reduces the government’s overall debt stock.