By Genalyn Kabiling
After the country’s inflation rate continued to slow down, Malacañang has vowed not to be complacent and instead continue to take steps to further ease the burden of consumers.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo
(OPS / MANILA BULLETIN)
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said they welcome the inflation drop recorded last month and would stay vigilant in monitoring the prices of goods.
"The President and this Administration will not fall into complacency in balancing the country's overall economic progress and alleviation of our people's distress to inflation," he said.
"Filipinos can expect that we will remain vigilant as we continue to monitor the prices of basic goods and commodities, and implement measures to further ease the burden of our countrymen," he added.
The country's inflation slowed down to 5.1 percent last December, from 6 percent in November 2018. It was the second consecutive drop after a nine-year high of 6.7 percent last September.
Panelo said the inflation drop was "positive news” since it was the lowest since June 2018, which had a rate of 5.2 percent.
He has credited the President's action plan, including boosting supply of agricultural products, that helped temper the high inflation.
"The Palace attributes this primarily to the President’s comprehension of the dynamics of Philippine economy and his corresponding actions of providing remedies to draw to a close the unease of the ordinary consumer," he said.
"We look back on the Chief Executive's issuance of Administrative Order No. 13 which streamlined procedures on the importation of agricultural products such as rice, as well as Memorandum Order Nos. 26, 27, and 28 which helped stabilize the prices of agriculture and fishery products at reasonable levels and maintained their sufficient supply in our markets," he added.