Political will and economic policies lead to inflation drop — Romualdez

Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — House Speaker Martin Romualdez on Wednesday said that the inflation decrease can be traced to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s strong political will and economic policies.

Romualdez, the cousin of Marcos, sang praises of the President following the inflation rate’s decrease from 6.1 percent to 5.4 percent.

“This continued drop in inflation can be attributed to President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ R. Marcos Jr.’s strong political will and the administration’s sound economic policies. From a high of 8.7% at the start of the year, inflation had been tamed to 6.1% in May, and dropped again in June at 5.4%,” Romualdez said in a statement.

House reps welcome inflation decrease

Meanwhile, other lawmakers from the House of Representatives also rejoiced at the lowered inflation rate, with Ang Probinsyano representative and Deputy Majority Leader Alfred delos Santos saying this signifies that the country’s economy is doing well and is far from a debt crisis.

“What is important to do now is to make sure our economy keeps growing at a good pace, more people are employed, and incomes rise. We here in Congress do our share by making sure the annual national budget is spent on things that strengthen and grow the economy,” Delos Santos said.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda also welcomed the inflation rate drop, saying it should return consumer confidence.

“Expect business and consumer confidence to continue to improve as inflation figures are now very much anchored on expectations,” said Salceda.

“Broken down, however, inflation in key food items convinces me that recent proposals to increase taxes on sweetened beverages and impose new taxes on junk food need further refinement and study,” he added.

Salceda was referring to Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s plans to push for higher taxes on junk food and sugary drinks.

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JPV/abc