The total debt of the Philippines government reached P16.68 trillion at the end of March. This is P51 billion higher than the February record, according to the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).
If this is divided among 115 million Filipinos, including children and the elderly, each person's debt will amount to approximately P145,078. This is higher than 6 months' salary of a minimum wage earner in NCR.
From January to March, the government spent P342 billion for debt repayments. Of this amount, P101.022 billion went to amortization while P241 billion was paid for interest.
Although the increase in debt since February appears small, a large part of it is due to the strengthening of the peso against the dollar. As a result, the value of some foreign debt has decreased. In addition, debt also decreased due to the repayment of P95.1 billion in foreign debt in March.
