Despite easing inflation, Palace assures gov’t won’t be complacent

MANILA, Philippines—While it welcomed the continuous easing of the inflation rate, Malacañang on Friday assured that government will not be complacent and will continue to monitor the prices of commodities.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) has reported that inflation clocked in at 3.3 percent in March 2019, the lowest since January 2018.

READ: PSA: Inflation further eased to 3.3% in March

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo attributed the downward path of inflation to the “administration’s resolve” to cushion its impact which resulted in lower prices of commodities for five straight months.

“We are confident that this slide would continue further for the rest of the year as President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s signing of Republic Act No. 11203 last February is expected to further ease inflation. Our economic managers expect rice prices to go down and even cut inflation by 0.5 to 0.7 percentage point this year,” Panelo said.

RA 11203 is the Rice Tarrification Act which lifts import restrictions on rice to make the price of the staple affordable.

“The government, however, would not be complacent and has been vigilant in keeping a close watch on the prices of goods and commodities with the onslaught of El Niño, which may hamper food production,” he added.

Panelo said the Department of Agriculture has already distributed water pumps and shallow tube wells as part of its pre-El Niño action.

“We are also ready to conduct cloud seeding, if necessary,” he noted.

The Palace official also called on the public to take part in “water preservation not only in agriculture but also in our daily consumption to increase our resiliency against this extreme weather phenomenon.”/muf