MANILA – The continued decrease in inflation is the result of economic reforms and measures to reduce food prices, particularly that of rice, undertaken by the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Tuesday that headline inflation eased to 1.4 percent in April, the slowest since the 1.2 percent rate recorded in November 2019.
“Ang pagbaba ng inflation sa 1.4 percent ngayong Abril ay isang konkretong patunay na ang mga hakbang ng pamahalaan ay may tunay na epekto sa buhay ng mga ordinaryong Pilipino (The easing of inflation to 1.4 percent this April is a concrete proof that government measures have a real effect on the lives of ordinary Filipinos),” Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Tuesday said in a statement.
“Ipinapakita ng numerong ito na mas kontrolado na ang presyo ng mga pangunahing bilihin — mula sa bigas, gulay, at karne, hanggang sa kuryente at pamasahe. Ibig sabihin, mas abot-kaya na ang pang-araw-araw na gastusin at mas lumalawak ang kakayahan ng bawat pamilyang Pilipino na mapagkasya ang kanilang kita (This number shows that prices of basic commodities are more controlled — from rice, vegetables, and meat, including electricity and transport fare. It means daily expenses are more affordable and expands every Filipino family’s ability to stretch their income),” he added.
Romualdez said the fall in inflation was an “expected outcome” and not a fluke, pointing out that lower prices of rice and other food items contributed largely to the decrease in inflation in April.
“Hindi ito basta resulta ng swerte. Ito ay bunga ng malinaw na direksyon at matatag na pamumuno ni Pangulong Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (This is not the result of luck. This is the result of the clear direction and strong leadership of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.),” he said.
Since the start of the second half of 2024, the Department of Agriculture has launched several programs that aim to provide cheaper rice directly to the vulnerable sectors under the Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) initiative. These include the P29 program in July and the Rice for All in August last year.
On May 1, the “Benteng Bigas Mayroon (BBM) Na” program was launched in Cebu.
The KNP initiative also expanded access to cheaper vegetables and other agricultural products.
At the same time, President Marcos’ decision to reduce rice import tariffs has also been successful in reducing inflation.
Romualdez said Congress contributed through legislation and the exercise of its oversight power to keep prices down, untangle bottlenecks in the distribution chain that push prices up, and to expose abusive practices like hoarding and price manipulation.
He vowed that he and the House of Representatives would continue to help President Marcos keep food prices down and the country’s economy growing.
The PSA said the downtrend in the overall inflation in April was due to the slower increase in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 0.9 percent from 2.2 percent in the previous month.
Food inflation in particular, further eased to 0.7 percent from 2.3 percent in March this year. In April last year, food inflation was at 6.3 percent.
The PSA noted that the average price of regular milled rice declined to PHP44.45 per kg in April from PHP51.25 in April last year; well-milled rice fell to PHP44.45/kg from PHP51.25/kg; and special rice declined to PHP60.69 from last year’s PHP64.68/kg. (PNA)