MANILA, Philippines – Sinabi ng Department of Finance (DOF) nitong Martes, Agosto 8, na 12.1% o P699.2 billion ng proposed P5.768 trillion national budget sa susunod na taon ang ipambabayad ng mga obligasyon at iba pang utang ng bansa.
“When assessing the debt burden component of the budget, it is crucial to solely consider interest payments and net lending,” pahayag ni Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno.
Ang net lending ay tumutukoy sa advances ng national government para sa servicing of debt.
Samantala, sinabi ni Diokno na ang interest payments (IP) ay bumababa, “freeing up fiscal resources which can be reallocated to support the government’s priority programs.”
Sa datos ng DOF, mula 1986 hanggang 2015, ang average share ng IP sa total national government expenditures ay nasa 23.3% at nagpatuloy pa ang pagbaba ng 10.1% mula 2016 hanggang 2022.
“For 2024, the allocation for interest payments is only 11.6% or P670.5 billion of the 2024 budget. This allows us to spend more on socioeconomic programs and projects in our priority sectors such as education and infrastructure,” ani Diokno.
“The settlement of debt obligations incurred from expenses were already recorded in the past. Therefore, principal amortization only represents the fulfillment of financial responsibilities arising from previously recorded expenses,” dagdag pa ng Finance chief.
Aniya, ang mga ito ay umiiral nang obligasyon, at ang principal amortization ay hindi magdudulot sa dagdag pang mga utang.
“If any, the responsibility for the debt is just moved from the previous lender to a new lender during the refinancing process. As a result, this does not add to the debt burden,” sinabi ni Diokno.
Sa pagtatapos ng Hunyo, ang kabuuang sovereign debt stock ng bansa ay umabot sa P14.15 trilyon.
“Through the continuous implementation of improvements to tax administration and efficiency and implementation of key tax reforms, the government is confident that revenue collections will continue to increase and the deficit will narrow on the back of a strong economy,” pagbabahagi ni Diokno.
“We would like to thank Congress for its continuous support on the MTFF legislations and for the ongoing work on the remaining revenue measures,” pagtatapos niya. RNT/JGC
