UniTeam senatorial candidate Herbert “Bistek” Bautista on Friday urged the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to help keep inflation rates in check as the war in Ukraine is making an impact on Filipinos who are still recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bautista said there is no doubt that the possible rise in interest rates will cause prices of goods to rise and for the peso to weaken.
“We will lose the chance to buy, import food for our people,” said Bautista, who is seeking a Senate seat in the upcoming May 2022 elections.
The former Quezon City mayor also said an impending increase in rates by the US Federal Reserve is sure to affect rates in the Philippines and impact prices of goods.
He said the BSP should try to keep inflation rates between 3 to 4 percent to lessen the impact of the US Fed rate hikes on Philippine consumers.
“If inflation exceeds four percent and reaches seven percent every month that would be a heavy burden on our people,” he said, adding that “our consumers will have a tougher time.”
Last week, at least four international economic think tanks—Goldman Sachs, Singapore’s UOB, Capital Economics and Pantheon Macroeconomics—warned that Philippine inflation risked intensifying in the coming months.
Goldman Sachs said in a report that inflation was likely to rise above 4 percent, which would prompt the BSP to maintain its low interest rates of 2 percent that was put in place during the pandemic.
“Our people are not even fully recovering from the impact of the pandemic,” Bautista noted.
"The BSP should help tame inflation as much as it can,” he stressed.