Majority of Pinoys want gov’t to ‘immediately’ address inflation — Pulse Asia

Concern about inflation is most pronounced in Class D with 65 percent, followed by Class E with 60 percent, and Class ABC with 52 percent. (File Photo courtesy of Malabon Market via PNA)

Most Filipinos want the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte to focus more on addressing the surge in prices of basic commodities, according to Pulse Asia’s September 2018 Ulat ng Bayan survey.

The survey, done from September 1 to 7, revealed that a sizeable majority or 63 percent of Filipinos believed that among the national issues that the country is currently facing, it is the inflation that the government must ‘immediately’ address.

This figure is a 12-point jump from June which was only at 51 percent.

“This is the predominant opinion in all geographic areas and socio-economic classes (53% to 66% and 52% to 65%, respectively),” the Pulse Asia said.

Concern about inflation is most pronounced in Class D with 65 percent, followed by Class E with 60 percent, and Class ABC with 52 percent.

The survey also showed that half or 50 percent of Filipino also considered the need to improve the workers’ pay as an urgent national concern, a sentiment expressed by majorities in Metro Manila which is at 55 percent, the Visayas at 59 percent, and Class ABC at 52 percent.

Aside from pay hike and inflation, Filipinos also think that the Duterte administration should also focus on poverty reduction (32 percent), job creation (30 percent), fighting graft and corruption in government (26 percent), combatting criminality (23 percent), promoting peact (14 percent), protecting the environment (13 percent), reducing the amount of taxes paid by citizens (12 percent), and enforcing the rule of law (11 percent).

While these are the urgent national concerns, Filipinos seemed to be least concerned about the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (six percent), rapid population growth (six percent), terrorism (five percent), national territorial integrity (five percent), and charter change (three percent).

As part of its survey, the Pulse Asia also asked its 1,800 respondents, whose age ranges from 18 years old and above and are registered voters, to evaluate the administration’s efforts on these issues.

The survey revealed that 83 percent of survey respondents approved the government’s effort to fight  criminality, 75 percent on protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), 74 percent on responding to the needs of areas affected by calamities, 71 percent on fighting corruption, 69 percent on enforcing the rule of law and promoting peace, 65 percent on protecting the environment, 56 percent on defending national territorial integrity, 56 percent on creating more jobs, and 53 percent on increasing the pay of workers.

Fifty-one (51) percent of the participants, however, have a negative assessment of the government’s handling of the inflation issue.

The latest Pulse Asia survey is conducted using face-to-face interviews with its respondents nationwide. It has a plus or minus two percent error margin at the 95 percent confidence level.

The survey was done after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced on September 5, that the country’s inflation hit 6.4 percent in August 2018, the highest in nine years and exceeded the forecast of the Department of Finance (DOF) and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) which was only at 5.9 percent.