MANILA -- Economic managers on Wednesday cited the deceleration of domestic inflation last November and committed to implement more measures that would guarantee food security to help manage inflation.
In a statement issued after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported the decline of inflation rate last November to 6 percent, the slowest since last July’s 5.7 percent, economic managers said the latest development suggests “the efficacy of anti-inflationary measures taken by the government” and points “to continuing reduction going forward.”
The anti-inflationary measures referred to in the statement include the directive for the National Food Authority (NFA) to immediately release rice stocks from its warehouses nationwide and for other agencies to ensure that rice imports are safely delivered from ports to warehouses and the markets.
This, as rice inflation, among others, registered big upticks in the past months due to supply constraints.
These non-monetary measures were made alongside the total of 175 basis points increase in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) key policy rates this year alone.
The economic managers said, “it is comforting for us that the slowdown will alleviate the struggles of poor Filipinos, especially now that the holiday season is just around the corner.”
“This makes us even more determined in curbing inflation and enforcing all measures to guarantee food security,” the statement read.
The PSA attributed the slower inflation rate last November to slower inflation of the food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 8 percent, which, on the other hand, is still among the inflation drivers in the 11th month this year.
Citing the PSA report, economic managers said food inflation slowed to 7.7 percent from last November’s 9.2 percent.
“This was caused by the improvement in the supply of key agricultural commodities such as rice, fish and seafood, meat, vegetables, corn, and fruits,” the statement said.
The statement said the deceleration “is a positive development in the government's commitment to manage inflation.”
However, the economic managers stressed that “mitigating measures under various government issuances, including those prescribed in Administrative Order 13, issued by the President should be continuously implemented and strictly monitored.”
“Most importantly, we must ensure the timely arrival of rice imports to compensate for the lost palay harvest in the third quarter of the year,” the statement read.
Economic managers also expect domestic rice prices to continue its decline following the recent passage of the Rice Tariffication measure in Congress.
“This measure, which opens the rice market to qualified players, should be coupled with the full operationalization of the National Window System to allow seamless imports processing and to avoid unwarranted delays,” the statement read. "The government should invest in farm mechanization and adopt the latest technology in crop management that includes the utilization of high-yielding and resilient crops” to boost productivity of the agriculture sector.”
Amid all these measures, economic managers urge the business sector “to avoid any unwarranted price increases as experienced during the rollout of the first tranche of fuel excise tax increase” in a bid to help manage inflation expectations.
“But we urge the public to be on the lookout and report any profiteering activities. We assure everyone that we will follow through with our efforts to maintain price stability and raise the quality of life of every Filipino,” the statement read. (PNA)
