By Genalyn Kabiling
Malacañang has lauded the latest drop in the country’s inflation rate and vowed to continue to monitor the prices of basic commodities, especially with the approaching Christmas season.
Presidential Chief Legal Counsel and Spokesperson Salvador Panelo holds a press conference for the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC) at the Impact Challenger in Nonthaburi, Thailand on November 3, 2019. (AVITO DALAN/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN)
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo has attributed the downtrend in inflation to President Duterte’s strong political will and the government’s sound economic policies.
“The Office of the President is pleased to announce that, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority, inflation has further eased from 6.7 percent in October 2018 to 0.8 percent in October 2019, which is the lowest inflation recorded since May 2016, or during the latter part of the previous administration's term,” Panelo said.
“This positive development is a testament that PRRD’s strong political will, together with his economic team’s sound and working macroeconomic policies and measures, contributed to the downward trend of prices and goods,” he added
He said the inflation drop should be considered as “good news to all Filipinos, especially to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's doubters or cynics unless they see it otherwise, which would then reveal that what they are solely interested in is for this Administration to fail.”
Panelo also assured the public that the consumer prices will be closely monitored in anticipation of the holiday season.
“As inflation continues to drop, the current government will continue to not let its guard down in monitoring the prices of basic commodities, especially now that we are in the “ber” months, approaching Christmas season,” he said.
He said bringing a comfortable life for all Filipinos, which includes taming inflation, remains the foremost socio-economic goal of the administration.
The country’s headline inflation slowed down to 0.8 percent last month, compared to the 0.9 percent last September, and 6.7 percent in the same month in 2018.
Read more: Inflation eases to 0.8 percent in October