Palace lauds lower inflation in January

February 5, 2019

Malacañang welcomed on Tuesday the 4.4 percent inflation in January, lowest in 10 months, as it vowed to make sure that its effect would be felt on the ground.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo noted that last year, soaring prices caused by uncontrollable factors tested the Filipinos' will as a nation.

"Not disheartened nor cowed, we rose to the challenge as a people. With the President’s (Rodrigo Duterte) strong and decisive action, we remained focused and steadfast as we addressed the conditions that contributed significantly to inflation," he said.

Inflation reached to as high as 6.7 percent in September and October last year, highest in almost a decade.

It started to go down in November when it simmered down to 6.0 percent and slid further to 5.1 percent in December.

"With inflation further tapering  down to a 10-month low of 4.4%, this Administration will oversee and ensure that its consequent effects at the market would be felt by the ordinary consumer," Panelo said.

He said the government would remain on guard in monitoring the prices of basic goods and commodities "as we aim to mitigate poverty and hunger, driven by the President’s  economic goal to lay down and build the foundation to a comfortable life for the present and future generations."

The Philippine Statistics Authority, which released the inflation data, attributed the lower inflation in January to the slowdown in the annual increment of the index for the heavily-weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 5.6 percent, from 6.7 percent in December 2018.

It also cited the lower annual increases in the indices of alcohol beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels; health; and transport, which also contributed to the downtrend of the headline inflation rate. Celerina Monte/DMS