After the Duterte administration concluded in 2022, the Philippines found itself burdened with an insurmountable nearly P7 trillion debt, a consequence of former President Rodrigo Duterte’s extravagant borrowing.

This astronomical burden weighs heavily on Filipino taxpayers, condemning them to shell out hundreds of billions yearly just to service the interest on this colossal debt.

Consider this: just on the interest alone, imagine what P100 billion could accomplish? The construction of countless bridges, public roads, and critical infrastructural projects could change the face of the nation.

However, to the Dutertards, the latest shift in his narrative is evident.

After the failure of his ludicrous and bloody “War on Drugs,” he’s now attempting to don the cape of a warrior combating the Reds!

For additional context, Duterte previously mentioned in his suspended “Gikan Sa Masa” program with Cult leader Apollo Quiboloy that he intended to run for either vice president or senator if the Marcos-Romualdez congress decided to impeach his daughter, Vice President Sara.

This move suggests Duterte’s attempt to position himself as the new opposition leader in the country’s evolving political terrain.

Well, at least it’s clear whose side he’s on—China and Xi Jinping’s! When it comes to real communist sympathizers, look no further. Traitor!

Now let’s dig into the Duterte debt debacle:

The National Government’s debt service bill surged to a staggering P819.526 billion by May’s end, nearly doubling from the previous year.

Principal payments skyrocketed to P589.952 billion, with domestic debt payments hitting a staggering P533.44 billion, and foreign debt amortization escalating to P56.512 billion.

Why the surge, you ask? Well, blame it on the inflated interest rates—thanks to the BSP’s policy rate hikes and the global bond trends.

Economists point fingers at higher prices, increased debt maturities, soaring interest rates, mounting financing costs, and a weakened peso exchange rate for the escalating debt servicing.

That’s much more than a double blow!

Meanwhile, as inflation persisted at a sky-high 7.5% for the first five months, breaching the central bank’s targets for 14 consecutive months, the BSP anticipates ending the year at a slightly lower 5.4%.

This glimmer of hope might bring some respite, foreseeing potential relief in debt servicing in the coming months.

But hang on, folks! The current Marcos administration has set the bar high for the year’s debt service program at a whopping P1.6 trillion—a staggering 23.3% increase from the previous year’s program.

As of May’s close, the National Government’s towering outstanding debt stands at a record P14.1 trillion! Again, half of that was incurred by Duterte.

The uptick was courtesy of augmented domestic and foreign debt issuance, coupled with the peso’s depreciation against the US dollar.

So, the Duterte legacy? A mountain of debt that will haunt generations to come, all while trying to hoodwink the Filipino populace with a recycled “War on the Reds,” despite his decades-long dalliance with communism.