MANILA – Inflation rate quickening to 6.8 percent in September will not make much difference to the poor, said Budget secretary Benjamin Diokno, citing even worse numbers in previous administrations.
The Department of Finance has issued a forecast that inflation may hit 6.4 percent in September, while the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said it may be at 6.8 percent.
Diokno told ANC that both outlooks are “possible,” but he would rather wait until the official numbers are released on Friday than give his own prediction.
When told that a 6.8 inflation might have a “dramatic effect” on the poor, Diokno said: “We’ve seen higher inflation in the past. It won’t really make a big difference.”
He said inflation peaked at 21.2 percent during President Corazon Aquino’s time, 13.9 percent during Fidel V. Ramos’, 10.7 percent during Joseph Estrada’s, 10.5 percent during Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s, and 5.2 percent during Benigno Aquino III’s.
Inflation surged to 6.4 percent in August this year, its fastest in nearly a decade and moved closer to 6.6 percent last recorded in March 2009.
“It’s not as bad considering what’s happening – oil prices almost doubled,” said Diokno.
He said the government has prepared a fund to help the farmers who may be affected once it loosens importation laws to tame inflation.
“When you do policy, you have to weigh the benefits and costs. There will be losers and winners. Who are the winners? The 100 million consumers. Who are the losers? The farmers, maybe about 2.5 million,” said Diokno.
“That’s a no-brainer, who gets the higher benefit…Then you have to take care of the farmers, that’s why we have created a fund for the farmers,” he said.
President Rodrigo Duterte has signed Administrative Order No. 13, removing non-tariff barriers for the importation of agricultural products to counter rising prices of goods. (ABS-CBN News)
