Survey: 63% of Filipinos want gov’t to address rising costs of commodities

GOING UP Prices of commercial rice have gone up partly as a result of higher demand due
to the National Food Authority’s decision to stop supplying cheap rice to retailers. INQUIRER file photo / LEO UDTOHAN

Amid the soaring prices of prime commodities, majority of Filipinos say inflation is an issue that the Duterte administration must immediately address, a recent Pulse Asia survey showed.

In its September 2018 survey released on Thursday, Pulse Asia said 63 percent of Filipinos want the government to address with haste the ever increasing prices of goods in the market.

The second most pressing concern the government should address, according to the survey, is the increase in the salary of workers.

The survey said half of the respondents or 50 percent consider the need to increase workers’ compensation as an urgent national concern – a sentiment expressed by majorities in Metro Manila (55%), the Visayas (59%), and Class ABC (52%).

A third set of urgent national concerns includes poverty reduction (32%) and job creation (30%).

Fighting graft and corruption in the government (26%) and combatting criminality (23%) comprise the fourth set of issues deemed urgent by Filipinos while the fifth group of urgent national concerns include promoting peace (14%), protecting the environment (13%), reducing the amount of taxes paid by citizens (12%), and enforcing the rule of law (11%).

In September 2018, Filipinos are least concerned about the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (6%), rapid population growth (6%), terrorism (5%), national territorial integrity (5%), and charter change (3%). None of these issues are considered urgent by a majority across geographic areas and socio-economic groupings.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s proposed plan to shift to a federal form of government, however, landed at the bottom of Filipinos’ concerns with just three percent share.

Meanwhile, Filipinos grant the Duterte administration majority approval scores for its efforts to fight criminality (83%), protect the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (75%), respond to the needs of areas affected by calamities (74%), fight corruption (71%), enforce the rule of law (69%), promote peace (69%), protect the environment (65%), defend national territorial integrity (56%), create more jobs (56%), and increase the pay of workers (53%).

The survey was conducted on September 1 to 7 using face-to-face interviews with 1,800 respondents nationwide.

Among the pressing issues during the conduct of the survey were the 6.4 inflation in August, revocation of amnesty granted to Senator Antonio Trillanes IV and the calls for the abolition of the National Food Authority (NFA) and the resignation of Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Emmanuel Piñol and NFA Administrator Jason Aquino amid the shortage of rice in several areas in the country. /jpv

RELATED STORY

ADB lowers PH growth forecasts