MANILA – A Department of Finance official on Sunday said the rice tariffication law will be the biggest contributor in reaching the target inflation range of 2 to 4 percent in 2019.
“Ang inaasahan natin for the whole year of 2019, pasok po tayo sa target range natin na 2 to 4 percent. Ang pinakamalaking contributor diyan sa pagbaba ng inflation rate, ‘yung rice tarrification,” DOF assistant secretary Tony Lambino said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB.
“Ang estimate po ng Bangko Sentral [ng Pilipinas] sa contribution ng rice tariffication sa pagbaba nito [inflation], 0.5 to 0.7 percentage point ‘yung contribution nung rice tariffication,” he said.
According to Lambino, the inflation rate can be projected through the prices of products in the “basket of goods.”
“Doon po sa basket of goods, kasama po diyan ang isda, karne, bigas, transportation cost, maintenance ng vehicle, education cost, at kung ano pa,” he said.
Lambino pointed out that several factors affect the inflation, not only the price of petroleum products. Based on the records last year, the price of rice has the biggest impact on inflation.
The country’s inflation rate has been on a downward trend since November 2018, Lambino said.
“Maaaring umakyat-baba ng konti, pero ‘yung trajectory po overall talagang para pumasok po sa ating target,” Lambino said.
Inflation continued to slow down in January and was at 4.4 percent, albeit still faster than in the same month in 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority said. (GMA News)
