The government is doing everything it can to cushion the impact of rising prices, the Palace said Friday as the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that inflation had risen to 6.7 percent, a nine-year high in September.
READ: September inflation jumps to 6.7%
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said rising prices for oil and fuel in the world market was the root of the high inflation here.
“Well, when it comes to inflation, we know it only started when there’s a rise in crude prices—the price of crude has increased. But when it comes to other commodities, we are doing what we can do. We are importing food to lower prices,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque in an interview with radio dzMM.
Roque said the government is also looking for ways to independently acquire oil rather than relying on imports.
“We are working to look for oil and we see the joint exploration in the West Philippine Sea as another option,” he said, referring to the possibility of an agreement with China in the disputed South China Sea.
Roque said the government continues to support the poor through its cash transfer programs.
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said measures to curb the inflationary effects of world oil prices will soon be in place.
“We already expect this big jump in inflation from January to December this year due to the lingering and rolling hikes in oil prices. The jump, month-on-month, was actually higher this year compared to 2017 when inflation would only rise 2 to 4 percent,” he said.
“Even other oil-importing countries are complaining about this. We cannot escape the fact that inflation will continue to rise unless global crude falls back to $40 [a barrel],’ he said.
READ: Oil prices still rising: 7th straight week now
READ: Fuel price rise sets off bus fare hike bid
But he said the government has already taken steps to lower food prices, including liberalizing the importation of rice and other agricultural products.
“With these measures, in place, we want to have a stable supply of basic commodities and reduce the rate of inflation by the end of 2018,” Lopez said.
In the Senate, Senator JV Ejercito said the implementing rules and regulations of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law need to more clearly state how the rise in excise taxes on fuel can be suspended when world crude oil prices hit the trigger level of $80 a barrel.
READ: Measures in place to tame inflation”‹
This has given Finance officials an excuse to drag their feet on the suspension, he added.
Other provisions that slow down the relief is the requirement that the Department of Finance meet with the Development Budget and Coordinating Council to review the implementation of the excise taxes before recommending any suspension.
Worse, he said, such a recommendation would only be made on an annual basis, and any suspension shall not result in any reduction of the excise tax being imposed at the time of the suspension.
“The wait for any suspension is too long. If the DoF would not want to tweak the IRR, Congress can act fast to make amendments to the TRAIN. After all, we’re just talking about a few provisions,” Ejercito said.
Opposition Senators Francis Pangilinan, Antonio Trillanes IV and Franklin Drilon said despite rising prices, the administration has no intention to suspend the second round of fuel excise taxes.
In a statement, they described the government’s cash transfer program was a palliative that was “enough only for a handful of meals” and has not even been fully implemented.
“Clearly, now is a time of solutions—concrete, immediate, and devoid of the usual politicking,” said the senators.
“We propose that government make rice available to all. Do away with the exorbitant NFA retailers’ fees for the sale of NFA rice in the supermarkets. Stop the implementation of the second tranche of fuel excise tax. Release and raise the government cash transfers. Hear the proposal to lower VAT to 10 percent. Investigate all allegations of official misconduct and hold the corrupt accountable.”
“When the national house is burning, he related that our people need leaders who can stop the fire, or to show them the way to safety—not leaders whose priority is to sow intrigue and hurl insults,” they said.
“We need a government that truly works; one that responds and addresses our needs—not one whose idea of solving problems is to silence those who point [them] out. Enough paranoia, enough noise, enough distractions. Our people need a way out of this hardship, and they need it now,” they added.
The Alliance of Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on Friday blamed the administration’s economic managers for the lack of a plan to mitigate the impact of rising prices.
“We see no indication that this growing poverty will cease to grow because there seems to be no strategy specifically designed by economic managers,” said the group’s spokesman, Alan Tanjusay.
He added that even if the government floods the markets with imported rice and vegetables, people have no money to buy the goods.
The Philippine Association of Stores and Carinderia Owners also expressed its concern about the rising cost of goods.
“In the past few weeks, we have seen price increase of commodities, including the items we sell at our small stores because of the impact of TRAIN Law. Now, this continuing inflation rate hike is racking up the prices of goods even higher, this might cause our micro-retail businesses to shut down],” said Vicky Aguinaldo, president of PASCO.
Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos, meanwhile, proposed a one-year suspension of the value-added tax on basic food commodities, fuel and electricity as a solution to the persistent high inflation.
“The temporary lifting of the VAT on basic commodities will provide urgent much-needed relief to Filipinos as inflation hit the hardest in the countryside. The poor Filipinos, they cannot wait for anti-inflation strategies that could take months to work. They need solutions now,” Marcos said.
“Filipinos cannot wait for global oil prices to go down. Prices are already too high for Filipinos living below the poverty line. Removing the VAT would lighten the burden of millions of Filipino households and would make their Christmas brighter amidst the high prices,” she said.
“The VAT suspension will run parallel to the anti-inflation measures of the Duterte economic team and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. It will buy time to set our economy back in shape,” she added. With Vito Barcelo
READ: September inflation may hit 7.1%