Aid to poor families, farmers to continue amid high prices of goods, Marcos says
President Marcos has committed to continue giving assistance to vulnerable communities amid rising prices of food commodities.

Through a statement on Thursday, Oct. 5, Marcos gave an assurance for its continued support to the most vulnerable sectors while implementing necessary measures to respond to rising prices as inflation inched up in September this year.
“The government is committed to providing targeted assistance to affected vulnerable segments of the population while food prices remain elevated,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), inflation in September 2023 increased to 6.1 percent, up from 5.3 percent in August.
The increase is primarily due to higher food inflation, which rose to 10.0 percent last month from 8.2 percent in August.
Higher food inflation was recorded on rice (17.9 percent from 8.7 percent), meat (1.3 percent from -0.1 percent), fruits (11.6 percent from 9.6 percent), and corn (1.6 percent from 0.9 percent).
Meanwhile, the prices of fish, vegetables, sugar, eggs, dairy products, bread, and other cereals recorded slower inflation.
Among the government initiatives that will carry on is the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) digital Food Stamp Program that provides monthly meal augmentation worth P3,000 to families classified as “food poor” by the PSA, along with pregnant and nursing mothers.
The agency will also provide a P10,000 cash subsidy to 78,000 farmers listed in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps).
Rice farmers are also set to receive P5,000 as financial assistance to help sustain their productivity amid the increasing cost of production while the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) launched the provision of fuel subsidies to 74,089 public utility vehicles last month.