Statement of Sen. Francis Pangilinan on the 6.7% inflation for October
Nasaan ang pangakong resulta sa pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin? — Kiko
Dalawang buwan nang nakatengga sa 6.7% ang inflation ngayon sa Pilipinas — mataas sa tantya ng Bangko Sentral at Department of Finance na bababa ito sa 6.5%. Nakaalarma pa na bahagyang tumaas ang inflation o presyo ng bigas ng 10.7% ngayong Oktubre, kumpara sa 10.4% noong nakaraang buwan.
Naglabas ng magkasamang pahayag ang Economic Team ng gobyerno noong October 7 kung saan siniguro nilang tintrabaho nila ang pagpapababa ng presyo ng mga bilihin at mabigyan ng tulong ang mga kababayan nating labis na naapektuhan.
Ngunit higit pa sa dalawang buwan nang problema ng Pilipinas ang tuloy-tuloy na pagtaas ng presyo ng mga bilihin. Ngunit hanggang ngayon ay wala pa rin tayong nakikita konkretong hakbang ng pamahalaan upang direktang aksyunan ang problemang ito.
Noong Setyembre ay naglabas kami ng ilang mungkahi upang matugunan ang inflation at nais naming ulitin ito:
Una, isuspinde ang excise tax of fuel. Ang Bangko Sentral na mismo ang nagsabi noong October 25 sa isang hearing sa Senado na makakatulong sa pagbaba ang inflation kung isuspinde ang excise tax sa petrolyo.
Ikalawa, bisitahing muli ang unconditional cash transfer program at siguruhing makukuha ng mga mahihirap na Pilipino nang maaga at sapat ang tulong ng gobyerno lalo na ngayong magpa-pasko. Ayon sa isang hearing noong October 23, sabi ng DSWD na mayroon pang higit isang milyong pamilya ang hindi pa nabibigyan ng schedule para sa payout dahil “challenge” makapunta sa mga isolated o depressed areas.
Ikatlo, ayusin ang liderato ng NFA at siguruhin na nasusunod nila ang kanilang mandato sa pagkontrol ng presyo ng bigas lalo pa ngayong kaka-anunsyo pa lamang na parehong hindi lalahok ang Vietnam at Thailand sa bidding para sa supply ng 203,000 metric tons ng bigas dahil sa ilang isyu tungkol sa terms of reference.
Kailan pa tayo aaksyon? Inuulit namin ang mga ito at inaasahan naming mapakinggan kami ng pamahalaan dahil ito ay hindi lamang problema nila kundi problema ng bawat Pilipino.
The 6.7% inflation in the country has been in place for two months now — higher than the estimate of the Bangko Sentral and the Department of Finance that it will go down to 6.5%. It is also alarming that the inflation or the price of rice slightly increased to 10.7% this October compared to 10.4% last month.
The government’s Economic Team released a joint statement on October 7 assuring us that its members are working on lowering the prices of goods and giving assistance to our people greatly affected by inflation.
But the increasing prices of goods has been the country’s problem for more than two months. And yet until now, we haven’t seen any concrete action by the government to directly address this problem.
Last September, we gave a few suggestions to address inflation and we want to reiterate these:
First, suspend the excise tax of fuel. It was the Bangko Sentral that said in a Senate hearing on October 25 that if the excise tax on fuel is suspended, it would help curb inflation.
Second, revisit the unconditional cash transfer program and ensure that our impoverished countrymen will receive government’s aid sufficiently and soonest, especially since Christmas is right around the corner. In a hearing on October 23, the DSWD said that there are still more than one million families that are yet to be given a schedule to receive their payout because it is a “challenge” to reach isolated or depressed areas.
Third, fix the NFA leadership and ensure that they abide by their mandate in regulating the price of rice especially now that both Vietnam and Thailand have announced to back out in the bidding for 203,000 metric tons of rice because of some concerns in the terms of reference.
When will we act? We reiterate these and we hope the government will listen because these are not just their problem but the problem of every Filipino.