4 of 5 Pinoys strongly feel pinch as rice, food prices spike–Pulse survey

Four out of five Filipinos were strongly affected by the increase in the prices of basic commodities, particularly rice and other food items, due to the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.

Pulse Asia found in its latest survey that 86 percent of 1,200 adult respondents “strongly” felt the rise in the prices of basic commodities, with the prevailing sentiment highest in Mindanao (92 percent) and among those in Class E (88 percent).

Nearly all (98 percent) have experienced price increases in basic commodities, essentially the same figures posted across areas and socioeconomic classes.

Conducted on March 23 to 28, the nationwide poll had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points. The results were released on Friday.

Food (92 percent) was most cited to have become more expensive since January 2018, particularly rice (81 percent), nonrice food items (67 percent) and sugar-sweetened beverages, or SSB, (56 percent).

Mostly felt in Visayas

Commodities which respondents had least experience of price hike were expenses for recreation (1 percent), water (2 percent), cell phone load (3 percent), alcoholic drinks (4 percent) and cigarettes (5 percent).

The respondents were asked to pick and rank three usually bought basic commodities that they had experienced price increases.

Those who felt the increase of price in rice was highest in the Visayas (93 percent) and Class E (91 percent), price hike of nonrice food was experienced most in Mindanao (75 percent) and Class E (70 percent), and increase in SSB price was mostly felt in Luzon outside metropolis (68 percent) and Class ABC (60 percent).

Rice also ranked first (58 percent) among food items which respondents often experienced price hike, followed by SSB (15 percent) and nonrice food items (14 percent).

Double-digit jump

Consumer prices rose by 4.3 percent in March, the fastest since August 2014 and above the government’s target range for 2018, partly due to the double-digit jump in prices of “sin” products last month, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The jump in prices also came in the wake of the implementation of the TRAIN law, which lowered the personal income tax of salary earners but raised the excise tax on a host of goods and services.

Among its features is the increased tax on SSB products to address the worsening number of diabetes and obesity cases in the country. —INQUIRER RESEARCH