TWO senators on Friday called on the Philippine government to immediately implement countermeasures to soften the blow of rising inflation on underprivileged Filipinos, warning that inaction could result in growing hunger rates across the country.
Senator Win Gatchalian said the inflation is strongly correlated to increasing hunger prevalence among poor and near poor Filipino households.
Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, noting that more than half (51 percent) of the inflation felt during January can be attributed to food inflation.
“This means that many of our countrymen are in danger of going hungry if the government doesn’t take immediate action to shield them from rising prices,” he added.
Alarmed by the rapid increase in prices of goods and services due to the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion Law, Senator Bam Aquino renewed his push for the immediate implementation of financial assistance to poor Filipinos.
“This is the reason I keep pushing for the immediate implementation of financial assistance. Alam na namin ang kahihinatnan ng tax reform ng nagbotohan, kaya ako kumontra sa TRAIN,” said Aquino.
When asked for specific action points, Gatchalian said that the government should first fast-track the full implementation of the expanded cash transfer program meant to provide support to 10 million families nationwide.
“During the Senate deliberations on the TRAIN Law, representatives of the Department of Finance promised us that the government would implement an efficient and responsive cash transfer program to ease the inflationary burdens that would be caused by increased excise taxes. The cash transfer program should have been running at full speed by January 1, but so far it has not delivered the intended results.”
The Department of Social Welfare and Development needs to work harder to deliver the cash to beneficiaries without any further delay,” he said.
He also urged the government to file criminal and civil cases against business proprietors who have imposed premature price hikes for oil and basic commodities.
“Those price gougers are committing economic sabotage against the Filipino people. They deserve to be thrown in jail,” Gatchralian said.
Senator Bam Aquino, meanwhile also weighed in on the increase in the inflation rate, which reached four percent– the highest in four years — due to the effects of the TRAIN Law.
Republic Act No. 10963 mandates financial assistance to 10 million poor Filipinos to counter the expected increase in prices of goods. In 2018, they will receive P200 monthly followed by a P300 monthly cash subsidy in 2019 and 2010.
During the measure’s period of amendments in the Senate, Aquino pushed for the immediate implementation of the financial assistance program to help poor Filipinos absorb the expected increase in the prices of goods and services. However, Sen. Bam’s proposal was not accepted.
“The government is failing the Filipino people, especially the impoverished. We must implement a sufficient financial assistance program immediately to cushion the blow of TRAIN and the price increases,” he said.
Recently, Aquino filed Senate Resolution No. 597, urging the appropriate Senate committee to scrutinize the implementation of the unconditional cash transfer to ensure that it is sufficient to cover the increase in prices of goods and other services.
Aquino is also calling on the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) to check if household incomes are enough to absorb the rising costs.
The senator is the former chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship and passed several measures to provide livelihood by supporting small, local businesses in the country. He is also the principal sponsor of the free college law passed last year.
He voted no to the ratification of the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law.