As inflation hit a three-year high of 5.4 percent in May 2022, Albay 2nd Rep. Joey Salceda called for urgent action in alleviating the financial burden on the indigent sector, specifically pointing out nutrition and food security.
“I am concerned that the poor are getting hit harder than everyone else in this. The inflation rate for the bottom 30 percent of households, year to date, has been 4.3 percent, whereas general inflation has been 3.5 percent year to date. This emphasizes the need to expedite any subsidies still undistributed," Salceda said in a statement on Tuesday, June 7.
"I will follow up with the relevant agencies on PRRD’s promised ayuda (subsidy) of P500 monthly, since that was what we accepted in lieu of suspending fuel excise taxes,” Salceda added.
Read more here: https://mb.com.ph/2022/06/07/inflation-hits-5-4-in-may-fresh-three-year-high/
He had predicted that flour-based products would shoot up in prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both countries account for nearly a third of the world’s wheat exports.
“The immediate impact inflation will have on the poorest households will be in nutrition. As face-to-face classes resume, we also have to implement aggressively the nationwide feeding program required by law, to supplement food intake among children from low-income households. Community-based food production efforts will also be critical in rural areas. I emphasize that inflation has been faster in 14 regions outside of NCR . Price increases are affecting provinces harder than NCR,” the economist-lawmaker explained.
“As the cause of price increases remain primarily external, we will have little choice but to adapt. Measures to subsidize sectors with second round effects, such as public transport and agriculture, will be vital. We must also produce more food at affordable prices. President-elect Marcos’s pick for Agriculture Secretary will be all-important as we deal with inflation in the coming months,” Salceda noted.
Marcos has yet to name an appointee to head the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The Bicol solon also said that the government should partner with groups holding large seasonal food surpluses to address the nutritional crisis in the indigent sector following the rising inflation rate and increased cost of flour-based products.