Marcos Jr. vows to keep goods affordable

MANILA, Philippines —  President Marcos yesterday vowed to sustain measures designed to ensure that the prices of goods remain affordable to consumers after the government reported that inflation slowed to 3.3 percent last month, from 4.4 percent in July.

In a statement, Marcos said the lower inflation was a “success” for every Filipino, citing state interventions such as the rice tariff cut and the Kadiwa program, which provides consumers access to affordable goods.

“By reducing rice tariffs, we brought rice inflation down from 20.9 percent to 14.7 percent and meat inflation also eased from 4.8 percent to 4.0 percent, providing a huge relief in the daily expenses of families,” the President said.

The President added the government aims to expand the Kadiwa program in Visayas and Mindanao to ensure that basic goods are affordable for Filipinos.

He added the government has also started the controlled rollout of the vaccine against African swine fever to ensure an adequate pork supply and avoid price hikes.

Government measures to stabilize transportation and fuel costs also helped ease the burden of Filipinos, the Chief Executive added.

“These are concrete steps we’re taking to make sure that the ‘Bagong Pilipinas’ we promised is felt where it matters most – at home,” Marcos said.

“We will continue moving forward to ensure that every Filipino will achieve a more comfortable life through quality jobs and affordable goods,” he added.