PH inflation rate soars to 6.1% in September

Transcript

00:00 Inflation cannot be totally eliminated. One can only hope to contain or slow it down

00:05 superficially or significantly. Hence, the president and his team have their work cut

00:09 out for them over the next couple of months to rein in a rather stubborn inflation rate

00:14 that has persisted over the last few months. PTV correspondent Soojin Kim has more.

00:20 The national inflation rate for September soared to 6.1 percent from the previous 5.3 percent.

00:28 Rice inflation, which stood at 17.9 percent, was the highest since March 2009.

00:35 The Philippine Statistics Authority held a press conference earlier today to discuss the drivers

00:40 of inflation. Undersecretary Dennis Mapa explained that food and non-alcoholic beverages along with

00:46 transportation costs were the primary driver of last month. The increase is primarily explained

00:51 by higher food inflation. Rice at 17.9 percent from 8.7, meat at 1.3 percent from -0.1, fruits

01:00 at 11.6 percent from 9.6, and corn at 1.6 percent from a previous 0.9. The prices of fish, vegetables,

01:10 sugar, eggs, dairy products, and other cereals recorded slower inflation.

01:15 "This is because of the faster increase in the price of cereal, particularly rice.

01:20 The increase in inflation also contributed to the increase in the price of food and non-alcoholic

01:25 beverages, meat, and other parts of slaughtered land animals, such as chicken."

01:32 The National Economic and Development Authority is also responding to rising prices.

01:37 The Philippine government reassures the public of its commitment to initiating measures like

01:42 the food stamp program launched in September 29, fuel subsidies, and targeted assistance to farmers

01:47 to support the community. To elaborate, low-income Filipino households will be provided with a monthly

01:54 meal augmentation worth 3,000 pesos. As of September 27, the Land Transportation Franchising

02:00 and Regulatory Board has also provided 74,089 subsidies to public utility vehicles. On September

02:08 18, the Department of Social Welfare Development provided 10,000 cash subsidies to 78,000 farmers

02:14 in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program. Additionally, rice farmers also stand to

02:19 receive 5,000 pesos as financial assistance amidst the increasing cost of production.

02:24 The President and the Cabinet are actively working to alleviate transportation costs and invest long

02:30 term in irrigation as well as modern farming practices to support the agricultural community.

02:35 They also anticipate a moderation in rice prices with local production increasing with the onset

02:41 of harvest season and the delivery of previously ordered rice imports to further alleviate the

02:47 increased burden of the citizenry. Soojin Kim, for The Nation.