Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Wednesday attributed the rise in the inflation rate in August to a nine-year-high of 6.4 percent to a spike in prices for food such as fish, rice, meat and vegetables.
“The government efforts to tame inflation remain appropriate but must be delivered with a greater sense of urgency. The unconditional cash transfers and the Pantawid passes programs should be delivered much faster,” said the Budget chief in a text message.
“Congress ought to act on the rice tariffication bill expeditiously. The share of these four food items to August inflation is 2.4,” he said.
Duterte’s economic team said in a statement that the highest contributors to the latest inflation rate are electricity, gas, fuel, fish, rice, personal transport, vegetables, and meat.
“A committed effort from government in the agriculture sector to boost supply of key products and introduce policy reforms will bring down prices for all Filipino families,” their statement read.
The country’s top economic managers, together with the help of several government departments, discussed immediate reforms to bring down food prices.
On fish, the Department of Agriculture will replicate the issuance of certificates of necessity allowing imports to be distributed in the wet markets.
On rice supply issues, the economic team said, 4.6 million sacks of rice available in NFA warehouses will be immediately released across the country.
“To address the reported shortage in Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, 2.7 million sacks will be allocated to these areas,” they said.
They also vowed to do the following: urge the Senate to pass the rice tarrification bill within the month, reduce the gap between the farmgate and retail prices on chicken, open importation of sugar, prioritize the release of essential food items in the ports, form a monitoring team for surveillance of rice from ports to warehouse and retail outlets, and lastly, recommend to the President the issuance of a directive to simplify the licensing procedures for rice imports of the National Food Authority.
“The government’s economic team has previously announced that inflation is expected to peak in the third quarter before tapering off towards the latter part of the year, and then fall within the government’s target by next year. However, inflation in August was beyond the median market forecast,” they said.
“We remain steadfast in putting forward and accelerating these measures that will address food prices for all Filipinos,” they added.
The Palace assured the public Wednesday that Duterte’s economic managers are taking steps to address the increasing prices of primary commodities as the country’s inflation shot up to 6.4 percent in August, recorded as the highest level in nearly a decade.
“The administration is taking steps to address the challenges, particularly rising prices, faced by Filipino families,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque in a statement.
“The President’s economic team continues to monitor inflation with vigilance as the government takes action to assist the poor while keeping the macroeconomy stable,” he said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the inflation rate spiked to 6.4 percent in August.
Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Wednesday said the House needed to adopt counter-inflation measures zeroing in on the tariff on some agriculture products that were earlier rejected by President Duterte.
“Remember there were suggestions that came from Congress. I would like to reiterate those,” Arroyo said in reaction to inflation’s nine-year high of 6.4 percent in August.
“I have already told you [reporters] the five main drivers—the exchange rate, the rice, the fish, the meat and the oil. Those are the five main drivers from the last time I talked to you about it,” Arroyo said.
She said the administration has already exerted efforts to address the high inflation.
“There may be new drivers I said because I do not have statistics at my fingertips [now], I cannot guess until they tell me,” she said.
She expressed optimism, however, that the rising inflation could be arrested, saying she had experienced even more alarming conditions when she was president.
Opposition lawmakers, led by House Minority Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, called for the resignation of Duterte’s economic managers, which include Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez and National
Economic and Development Authority Secretary General Ernesto Pernia for their failure to arrest rising inflation.
“Some economic managers of the Duterte administration are not capable of doing what they are tasked to do,” Suarez said.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda blamed the government for the worsening inflation rate.
“Ultimately, the 6.4 percent was really due to the fact that we did little or nothing. We can no longer blame market opportunists, profiteers and rice hoarders,” Salceda said.
House Majority Leader and Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. said the House would do its best to lower the prices of basic commodities.
“Our main concern right now is how to make food available and affordable to all. If you remember, one of the first acts of the present House leadership was to propose to the country’s economic managers measures to cushion the impact of the rising inflation,” said Andaya.
“We, in the House, for example, have already passed the bill on rice tariffication on third and final reading. We expect the Senate to follow suit and act on the measure with dispatch. Inflation management is up the alley of the Executive. Whatever they need from us, in terms of legislation or items in 2019 budget, we will be happy to discuss with them,” Andaya added.
Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, meanwhile, said it was urgent that the Senate pass his Bawas Presyo Bill to roll back excise taxes on petroleum products and to stop their further increases.
The Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines slammed President Duterte’s economic managers for being incompetent.
“It looks like government officials… including President Duterte’s economic managers are incompetent to provide mitigating measures to relieve workers affected by the incredible increases in the prices of goods and services. The Duterte Cabinet officials seemed to be not working for workers and the people,” ALU-TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.
He said there is no existing initiative from Duterte administration to provide social safety net programs to ameliorate both those workers who have fallen into deeper poverty and those who are about to fall due to rising cost of living and falling value of wages. With Julito G. Rada, Macon Ramos-Araneta, Vito Barcelo and PNA
