Oil, rice price shocks drove inflation—solon

Albay Rep. Joey Sarte Salceda on Thursday said the high September inflation of 6.1 percent as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) was due to “oil and rice price shocks during the month.”

Salceda, chair of the House committee on ways and means, said this “is expected to dissipate in the October figures” due to the sharp decline in global oil prices during the end of September.

“The PSA collects data on the first five days of the month, and on the 15-17th days, so it captured a lot of the speculative rise in global oil prices, but not the sharp declines that followed Sept. 27,”

Salceda said. “The weeks after data collected were entirely better, and we’ll catch that next month.”

He said the worst inflation was probably over for the rest of the year, and “it gets better from here.”

The chairman of the House committee on agriculture and food also expressed optimism that inflation had peaked in September, and said he expected prices of all major agricultural products to decline soon.

Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga attributed this positive outlook to the upcoming harvest season and the agricultural initiatives taken by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who also serves as Agriculture secretary.

He emphasized the vital role the harvest season historically plays in stabilizing prices and alleviating economic pressures on the public.

“As the harvest season approaches, we can anticipate stabilization and, eventually, a decrease in inflation rates. Our nation’s agricultural sector is a cornerstone of our economy, and the bountiful harvests ahead will undoubtedly have a significant impact on curbing inflation,” Enverga said.

On the other hand, the research group IBON said the September inflation rate shows that the administration is failing to effectively address soaring prices and help the poor and vulnerable cope.

Already, the year-to-date 6.6 percent average inflation is above the government’s forecast average of 5 percent to 6 percent for the year, IBON said.

The group said that low incomes are making it difficult for Filipino households to keep up with rising prices, even with the recent wage hike approvals in some regions.

For instance, the National Capital