Mitigating effects of inflation still top priority – Marcos

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets with his economic team on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022.

MANILA, Philippines — Mitigating the effects of inflation remains the “number one priority” of the administration’s economic team, President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday. 

Marcos issued the statement after meeting with his economic managers earlier in the day to discuss the “policy directions for the rest of the year and the first quarter of next year.”

“Number one priority is still inflation. We will continue to use interest rates to mitigate the effects,” he said in a Twitter post. 

“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.”

Earlier in the meeting with the Economic Team, we discussed policy directions for the rest of the year and the first quarter of next year.

Number one priority is still inflation. We will continue to use interest rates to mitigate the effects. pic.twitter.com/qRC1cAcvpi

— Bongbong Marcos (@bongbongmarcos) October 18, 2022

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Baliscan earlier said the Philippines’ rising inflation was only temporary and expected to slow down with the government’s going after its targets.

In a Palace briefing, Balisacan said the Philippines, as a small economy, is not immune to global developments that affect the inflation rate, but the Marcos administration is “mindful of these challenges.”

He acknowledged that the rising inflation might slow down the Philippines’ economic growth and affect its poverty situation.

“While we expect our poverty situation to improve as we continue our recovery, inflation and rising interest rate will mute this improvement,” he said.

“However, we expect the rise in inflation to be temporary, as it is expected to slow down and return to the medium-term target of 2% to 4%.”

He added that the country’s economic managers remained optimistic that the economic prospects “remain bright as we get our priorities straight and our acts right.”

The government is already laying the groundwork for “faster, more inclusive growth” that will generate “high-quality employment to reduce poverty rapidly,” Balisacan said.

“The Marcos administration assures the Filipino people of its vigilance and steadfast commitment to monitoring and managing these risks. We believe we are on the right track with the right plans and policies. With your trust and our government’s greater sense of urgency, we are confident that we can weather today’s economic challenges,” he said.

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