Gatchalian: 6.7% inflation rate ‘still too’ high for low-income families

While the inflation rate remained steady in October, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said the 6.7 percent inflation rate is “still too high” for Filipino families in the lower income bracket.

READ: October inflation up 6.7%, still over 9-year high, but price pressures easing

“While the inflation rate didn’t rise any further in October, the prevailing inflation rate of 6.7 percent is still too high, especially for families in the bottom 30 percent of the income bracket,” Gatchalian said in a statement on Wednesday.

“The government still has countermeasures in the pipeline to curb inflation,” he added.

Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs, noted that the passage of the rice tariffication bill will help lower the country’s inflation rate by 0.7 percent or about P7 per kilo of rice.

“We note that while the bill is still pending in the Senate, rice prices rose by 10.7 percent in October, up 0.3 percent from September’s 10.4 percent rice inflation rate,” he said.

He added that if the increase of excise tax on fuel is suspended, it could will have a huge impact in normalizing the country’s inflation rate in 2019.

“As we work towards making rice tariffication and the suspension of the fuel excise tax hike a reality, we also reiterate our call for the full implementation of the social mitigating measures of the TRAIN Law,” he said.

This includes the Unconditional Cash Transfer Program and the Pantawid Pasada Program, Gatchalian added. /ee