End-April debt service dips 45.69% By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto
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RUSSIAN ATTACKS ON KHARKIV KILL 4, WOUND DOZENS AS PEACE HOPES FADE AMID ESCALATING UKRAINE WAR
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HE national government’s debt service bill declined by 45.69 percent year-on-year as of the end of April, as amortization outweighed the increase in interest payments. Latest data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) showed debt payments fell to P622.921 billion in the first four months of 2025 from P1.147 trillion in January to April 2024. Broken down, 53.86 percent of the government’s debt service for the period consisted of amortization, while the remaining 46.14
percent was for interest payments. Amortization, or the repayment of principal loan, declined by 62.18 percent to P335.474 billion as of end-April from the P887.243 billion the government shelled out a year ago. According to Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation, the sharp drop in amortization likely reflects relatively lower national government debt and Treasury bond maturities compared to the same period last year. Domestic lenders were given significantly less: only P170.403 billion, down by 77.42 percent year-on-year from P754.770 bil-
lion. Foreign sources, meanwhile, were handed over P165.071 billion, up by 24.60 percent year-onyear from P132.473 billion.
Aug-Sept maturities
HOWEVER, Ricafort noted there would be relatively large government debt and Treasury bond maturities from August to September this year that must be serviced by then. On the other hand, interest payments rose by 10.34 percent to P287.447 billion as of end-April from P260.488 billion in the same period last year. Interest paid to domestic sourc-
es amounted to P209.032 billion, 12.80 percent higher than the P185.305 billion shelled out a year ago. Of the amount, P16.075 billion was for obligations incurred through Treasury bills, P146.126 billion for fixed-rate Treasury bonds, P43.205 billion for retail Treasury bonds and P3.626 billion for other debt. Meanwhile, the government disbursed P78.415 billion in interest payments to external lenders, up by 4.29 percent from P75.183 billion last year. For April alone, the government’s debt payments climbed See “End-April,” A2
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FIRB GAVE GOVT BODIES ₧20.9B AS OF MAY–DOF www.businessmirror.com.ph
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By Reine Juvierre S. Alberto @reine_alberto
HE Cabinet-level Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) has granted P20.9 billion worth of tax subsidies to government institutions as of May, according to the Department of Finance (DOF). In a statement, the DOF said the FIRB, chaired by Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto, approved 10 tax subsidy applications amounting to P20.9 billion from 2024 to 2025. “This move is in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s commitment to delivering more responsive public services,” Recto
said, adding that this would hasten and expand the government’s services for the public. As such, the FIRB’s Technical Committee has granted P7.5 billion in tax subsidies to the Manila International Airport Authority, P6 billion to the National Power Corporation and P4.5 billion to See “FIRB,” A2
GOVT MUST SET FLOOR PRICE OF P21 FOR PADDY RICE–GROUP
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ICE watch group Bantay Bigas called on the government to impose a floor price of P21 per kilo for paddy rice. According to Bantay Bigas spokesperson Cathy Estavillo, the floor price would ensure that planters will earn at a fair price amid claims that some traders are purchasing palay at unreasonably low prices. “[A floor price] should be set at no less than P21 per kilo,” Estavillo told the BusinessMirror. “The cost to produce a kilo of palay ranges from P17 to P18 per kilo according to farmers and based on [our] research, yet
it’s being bought at P13 or even P10 per kilo,” she added. Estavillo then urged the National Food Authority (NFA) to purchase more palay from farmers. “[The NFA] needs to buy the rice from our farmers at a high price because we can’t expect anything if we rely on traders and millers to buy our farmers’ rice,” she said. For his part, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson said the grains agency would send its staff to investigate the cases of alleged purchasing of palay at low prices. See “Govt,” A2
GRAPE EXPECTATIONS Simple joys in life include running through the grape fields during harvest season. In this vineyard in Bauang, La Union, children find delight in play, unbothered by tourists snapping photos or parents carefully choosing the perfect bunch. These fleeting moments—sun-kissed, joy-filled—may blur with time, but a single photo can bring them rushing back like the scent of ripe grapes in the summer air. NONIE REYES
PHL banks’ assets up 5.5% in April: BSP By Cai U. Ordinario
Freshly Brewed LIVE NATION PHILIPPINES’ RHIZA PASCUA FROM STAY-AT-HOME MOM TO CONCERT QUEEN Meet the woman who put the Philippines on the global concert map »A12
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HE total assets of the Philippine banking sector grew 5.53 percent in April 2025, according to the latest data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The data showed total assets increased to P26.89 trillion in April 2025 from P25.48 trillion in the same period last year. The bulk or 93.5 percent of the assets of the banking system was
accounted for by Universal and Commercial Banks (UKBs) and the remainder, by Thrift Banks and Digital Banks. Data for Rural and Cooperative banks were not yet available for April 2025. The data showed UKBs assets grew P25.15 trillion as of April 2025, or 5.1 percent higher than the P23.93 trillion recorded in April 2024. Meanwhile, BSP reported that the total assets of Thrift Banks reached P1.12 trillion in April 2025.
This grew faster than UKB total banking assets at 8.53 percent in April 2025 from the P1.03 trillion posted in April 2024. Digital Banks also posted faster growth at 29.38 percent in April 2025. The data showed its assets rose to P125.63 billion in 2025 from the P97.1 billion posted in April 2024. Meanwhile, the banking sector’s liabilities reached P23.41 trillion in April 2025, a 4.46-percent growth from the P22.41 trillion posted in April 2024.
This was composed of the liabilities of UKBs which reached P21.94 trillion in April 2025. This represented a 3.98-percent growth from the P21.1 trillion posted in April 2024. The data also showed thrift bank liabilities increased 4.46 percent to P23.41 trillion in April 2025 from P22.41 trillion April 2024. As for digital banks, their liabilities grew faster than their assets at 32.64 percent. Their liabilities increased to P110.86 billion in April 2025 from P83.58 billion in the same period last year.
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 55.7890 n JAPAN 0.3909 n UK 75.6276 n HK 7.1119 n CHINA 7.7744 n SINGAPORE 43.3683 n AUSTRALIA 36.1959 n EU 63.6999 n KOREA 0.0410 n SAUDI ARABIA 14.8783 Source: BSP (June 5, 2025)