Neda chief bats for financial aid to poor amid high inflation 

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Chief Arsenio Balisacan on Saturday stressed on the importance of shielding the poor from the effects of high inflation by giving them financial aid.

“Moving forward, we need to speed up providing financial assistance to the poor [and] most vulnerable groups,” said Balisacan in a press release from the Office of the Press Secretary.

Balisacan also emphasized the importance of food production, saying that the government should focus on “implementing our food production enhancement programs, and executing timely food importation.”

During a Palace briefing on Tuesday, the NEDA chief added that the government is monitoring developments in relation to inflation and to find intervention measures.

READ: Marcos economic managers closely monitoring inflation rate, weakening peso

Social Weather Stations Survey

A recent survey by the Social Weather Stations found that 49% of Filipino families saw themselves as being poor. In response to this, Balisacan said this was “expected, given the acceleration of inflation, particularly in food and transport.”

However, Balisacan said inflation could have been higher if the economy had not opened again after the COVID-19 community quarantines and the aid distributed to vulnerable sectors such as low-income households and farmers.

“Note that inflation has been coming partly from external factors, including global supply disruptions caused by the Ukraine-Russia war,” said Balisacan.

According to Balisacan, Asian countries like Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia are also experiencing rising inflation.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. previously said that defending the peso was a priority of his administration but said the Philippines is still doing better in dealing with inflation as compared to other countries.

“We may have to defend the peso in the coming months, but the overall forecast is that we are still doing better than other countries in terms of inflation, though economic developments are still anticipated,” said the President.

Balisacan earlier said inflation is expected to return to the government’s medium target of 2% to 4%, after September’s inflation rate reached a record high 6.9%. Balisacan’s projection is based on the World Bank’s October prediction that the Philippine economy will grow by 6.5% in 2022.

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/MUF