“Why is the current national debt sky-high?” is a question that critics of President Bongbong Marcos have been tossing around like confetti, especially when pointing out the Philippines’ towering ₱16.09 trillion national debt.

But wait—hold on to your calculators, folks. Out of this mountain of debt, a hefty ₱12.79 trillion was inherited from the Duterte administration. Yep, it’s like receiving an overly generous utang package as a welcome gift to Malacañang.

Marcos critics love to act as if he swiped the nation’s credit card for a nationwide shopping spree, but let’s be real—he walked into the party when the bill was already sky-high. Sure, ₱16 trillion sounds terrifying, but before you blame PBBM, try adding and subtracting first. Duterte handed over a debt snowball, but hey, maybe pointing fingers is easier than doing math. Or as we like to call it, the Filipino version of “debt-aton logic.”