(BusinessMirror) The country’s debt service payments last year amounted to P1.293 trillion, the highest in 36 years, based on data from the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr).

The BTr data indicated the country’s debt service payments in 2022 were 7.4 percent higher than the P1.2 trillion posted in 2021.

Prior to 2022, the largest debt payment was recorded in 2021 while the lowest was posted in 1986, when it reached P34.813 billion, based on existing government data.

However, the debt service payments last year were slightly lower than the initial target of the government. For 2022, the government programmed debt payments to reach P1.298 trillion.