MANILA – Fewer Filipino households were able to save money in the third quarter of 2018, a nationwide survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed.
Results of the Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) showed that only 32.5 percent of Filipinos had saved money in Q3 compared to 37.4 percent in Q2.
For an economist, what happened was the impact of skyrocketing of prices of basic goods and prime commodities that drove inflation to accelerate to 6.4 percent in August – its fastest in nine years.
“Tumaas ang presyo ng mga bilihin, so mas maraming pera ang lumalabas sa mga bulsa ng mga mamamayan ngayon,” Prof. Emmanuel Leyco of the Asian Institute of Management said.
“So kaunti lang ang niipon nila … Kung nakakaipon pa,” Leyco noted.
The CES, which covered 5,408 households, also showed that the country’s debt-to-income ratio rose from 27 percent in Q2 to 43.7 percent in Q3.
It was an indication that more respondents were in debt and not making enough money to settles their debts, according to the BSP.
“Como hindi naman umaakyat ang kanilang kinikita at lumalago ang kanilang mga inuutang, ‘yung porsyento ng kanilang inutang kumpara doon sa kanilang mga kinikita ay lalong lumalaki,” Leyco said.
There is an urgent need for President Rodrigo Duterte to address the situation of Filipino households, especially since a large portion of the economy is driven by consumer spending.
“Siguro kailangan sabihin kay Presidente kung papaano natin susugpuin ang infation, papaano natin papanatiliin na huwag nang umakyat pa ang presyo ng mga bilihin,” Leyco said. (GMA News)
