Neda: Filipino income must match PH inflation rate

Usec. Rosemarie Edillon
—(FILE) Photo from NEDA website

MANILA, Philippines — The income of Filipinos must match the inflation rate, according to National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Usec. Rosemarie Edillon on Tuesday.

The government had announced an eased inflation rate of 4.9 percent for October, yet as Edillon explained, the prices of goods are still rising, but slower than last month.

“Ang kailangan din kasi diyan is may karampatang increase in the incomes ‘no. So, kaya dito… papasok din dito iyong mga programa to make sure that we increase the employability of our workers, we improve on their skills kaya talagang ano ‘to eh, all-of-government approach talaga ‘to ‘no,” said Edillon in a Palace briefing.

(What we need is an appropriate increase in income. So here is where the government programs come in to make sure that we increase the employability of our workers, we improve on their skills, so this is an all-of-government approach.)

According to Edillon, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s administration is working towards creating better quality jobs.

READ: Rate hike pause seen likely in November

Asked by the media if the Neda would support a legislated wage hike, Edillon said that the current wage system is functioning.

“It’s working right now because the regional wage boards, they, as you know, are composed of employers, employees, and then the government. So they know the situation in the region. They really have to balance the labor situation and the investment situation. The development that is planned to happen in that particular region, they know it more on the ground,” said Edillon in a mix of English and Filipino.