Economic intervention needed to cushion Bicol inflation: Salceda

FILE: Albay Representative Joey Salceda (Photo: Joey Sarte Salceda/Facebook)

LEGAZPI CITY — Albay Rep. Joey Salceda on Tuesday called for an immediate economic intervention to mitigate the effects of soaring inflation in the Bicol region.

Salceda said the 9-percent inflation rate that hit Bicol is already a cause for alarm since it is the highest in the country, especially considering that Bicol is the fourth poorest region in the Philippines. “Inflation at 9 percent is an existential threat to development since it would increase the number of poor people and worsen hunger, thus higher malnutrition, which in turn results in higher stunting rate, which deprives our youth of their physical and mental potential,” he said.

In a press statement, Salceda said price spikes were most notable in vegetables (27 percent), fish (20 percent), corn (17.7 percent), and rice (12.5 percent).

The Albay solon earlier expressed disagreement with the National Economic and Development Authority’s (NEDA) assessment that inflation in Bicol is not yet alarming because there is ample supply of food at prices lower than those in other regions available in the market.

Salceda, an economist himself, has recommended measures to address the supply-side causes rising inflation, on top of which is the release of more low-cost imported rice by the National Food Authority (NFA). He, however, said that once harvest season begins in October, NFA’s focus should shift to buying rice from local farmers. He explained that rice has been among the top drivers of inflation in the region.

The lawmaker also called on the Department of Energy (DOE) to issue fuel vouchers to small fishermen to subsidize their livelihood and increase fish output.

Salceda also asked the Department of Agriculture, through the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), to distribute free seeds, especially those of short gestation vegetables. He said the government should encourage small-scale vegetable farming in backyards, schools, and other vacant areas to enhance production at a time when inflation in vegetables has reached a multi-year high.