INFLATION in the 6% to 7% range is still too high for the poor who struggle to meet their basic needs, said Rep. Alfred “Apid” C. Delos Santos of Ang Probinsyano Party-list.
He made the statement in response to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ inflation forecast for April 2023, which ranges from 6.3% to 7.1%.
“The poor cannot feel the difference between an inflation rate of 8%, 7%, and 6% because all of these rates are still too high for them and beyond their daily income,” Delos Santos said in a press statement.
While the lower inflation forecast is welcome news for middle-income and upper-middle-income families, who have more money for fuel, utilities, travel, and other non-food items, Delos Santos said the poor are still waiting for assistance to offset the effects of inflation.
“If there’s anything we can do to help the executive agencies with mobilization efforts, we’re ready and willing to support them, as we’ve been doing alongside the DSWD and DOLE,” he said.
Delos Santos also urged the Department of Trade and Industry to review prices for basic commodities, given the persistently high inflation rate.
On the full-year economic growth, Delos Santos called for more efforts to reopen sectors of the country that have not returned to full in-person social activity and mobility, as their limited reopening keeps the national economy from moving ahead with GDP growth above 7%.
“The reopening of these sectors will help not only the poor but also the middle-income and upper-middle-income families, who will have more opportunities to earn and spend,” he said.
Delos Santos’s statement came amid concerns over the impact of inflation on the poor and the economy as a whole. The Philippines has been grappling with high inflation rates in recent years, prompting the government and the central bank to take measures to address the problem.
