The government expects that its intensified measures to rein in inflation will help ensure it will be within the target range by the fourth quarter of 2023, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said over the weekend.
The Economic Development Group held its second session recently in a Joint EDG and Inter-Agency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook.
“It discussed the continuous implementation and the intensification of measures to monitor prices and the demand- and supply-side risks in both food and non-food commodities in view of safeguarding the Filipino people’s purchasing power against potential inflationary impacts of weather and external-related uncertainties, the impending El Nino, and transportation and wage hike petitions,” Diokno said.
Diokno said to ensure food security, particularly in rice, the government would intensify the proper utilization of the calamity fund and quick response fund to help farmers.
The government will also expedite the implementation of measures to mitigate the impact of El Niño as discussed by the National El Niño Team to ensure food security.
These include the provision of production inputs such as early maturing/short gestation/drought tolerant seed and planting materials), adjustment of the cropping calendars, construction or installation of rainwater harvesting structures and small scale irrigation systems, and distribution of pump and engine sets, among others.