Marcos: PH on track to maintain economic performance despite inflation ‘out of control’

MANILA, Philippines — Even as he admitted that inflation in the Philippines is “running rampant and out of control,” President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said that the country is “on track” to maintain a strong economic performance.

Marcos said the Philippine economy continues to recover from the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and is on track to achieve the government’s target of 6.5 % to 7.5% for 2022.

“The country is on track to maintain a strong economic performance and achieve the govs growth target of 6.5 to 7.5 % for 2022,” he said.

Among the indicators for this, Marcos said, is that the country’s growth rate “looks healthy,” the Philippine peso has become “a little stronger relative to the other currencies,” and the unemployment rate is “quite reasonable.”

“However, on the other side of the coin, there is still inflation that is running rampant and out of control,” the President said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) earlier said that consumer prices in the Philippines rose further in November, taking the annual increase to a 14-year high of 8%.

READ: Philippine inflation leaps to 14-year high in November

Marcos said the government is already identifying the main drivers of the high inflation rate, including imported inflation.

“So again, import substitution is still a good idea, not for foreign exchange reserve, but also so that we can keep our inflation rate down,” he said.

READ: 8-week oil price hikes hammer Filipinos still being battered by COVID

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