MANILA – The slowing down of inflation rate to four-month low six percent in November can be credited to President Rodrigo Duterte’s decisive action on the rising prices of goods, according to Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo.
He said in a press statement that the directives of the President to cushion the effects of inflation have work wonders based on the latest rate issued by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
“We attribute this to the President’s empathy to public clamor and his decisive action in response thereto,” Panelo said, pertaining to Duterte’s issuance of Administrative Order No. 13 and Memorandum Order (MO) Nos. 26, 27, and 28.
AO No. 13 aim to streamline procedures on the importation of agricultural products, including rice, while MO Nos. 26, 27, and 28 stabilizes the prices of agriculture and fishery products at reasonable levels and maintain their sufficient supply in the market.
“These measures address issues on food supply, among others, as there is a marked decrease in food inflation from 9.4 percent in October to 8 percent in November. Prices of rice, corn, fish, meat, fruits and vegetables have gone down,” Panelo said.
“We assured the public that the government would continue to be vigilant and monitor the prices of basic goods and commodities to ensure that hunger incidence and food insecurity are eradicated,” he added.
After months of record-high inflation rate, the PSA has recently reported the decline of inflation last month to six percent due to easement on the price of some goods. It was the first time that the inflation has dropped since February 2016./PN
