Palace: Gov’t taking steps to address inflation

Malacañang assured the public on Wednesday that President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic team is taking steps to address the increasing prices of commodities as inflation rate clocked a new nine-year high of 6.4 percent in August.

“The Administration is taking steps to address the challenges, particularly rising prices, faced by Filipino families,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a statement.

“The President’s economic team continues to monitor inflation with vigilance as the government takes action to assist the poor while keeping the macroeconomy stable,” he added.

According to the data released by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Wednesday, the inflation rate spiked at 6.4 percent in August, the fastest in over nine years since inflation was recorded at 6.6 percent in March 2009.

READ: Inflation hits new 9-year high of 6.4% in August

Duterte earlier certified as urgent the rice tariffication bill to ensure its swift passage in Congress.

He said the country must switch from the current quota system in importing rice to a tariff system where rice can be imported more freely.

Earlier, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno also called for the swift passage of the bill, saying that the government’s inflation-mitigating measures must be delivered with “greater sense of urgency.” /ee

READ: Diokno says gov’t urgently needs to tame inflation

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