PBBM readies measures to tame inflation: Palace

He added that the country’s rising inflation warrants careful handling and close monitoring. (Pexels Photo)

MANILA – President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is ready to undertake measures that would help curb inflation, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

This, after private polling firm Pulse Asia bared that most Filipinos stressed the need for Marcos to control inflation.

Pulse Asia, in its June 24 to 27 survey, found that 57 percent of Filipinos want the Marcos administration to take immediate steps to ease inflation.

Reacting to the poll results, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles said Marcos is already aware that the uptick in the country’s inflation could be a “potential problem.”

Hence, Marcos, during his first meeting with his Cabinet on July 5, discussed several initiatives to tame the rise in consumer prices, Angeles-Cruz said.

“We actually discussed inflation at the last Cabinet meeting and the president himself reported this, so he is actually ahead of the publication of the survey having anticipated this as a potential problem,” she said in a text message sent to Palace reporters.

Philippine inflation climbed to a three-year high at 6.1 percent in June from 5.4 percent in May and 3.7 percent a year ago amid higher food and transport costs, according to the data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Marcos, in a media interview on July 5, said he has directed all government offices to follow the “central policy” that will be crafted by his economic team.

He added that the country’s rising inflation warrants careful handling and close monitoring.

Other national concerns

Pulse Asia, in the same survey, revealed that 45 percent of adult Filipinos express hope that Marcos would look for ways to increase the pay of workers.

The other national issues that the new administration must prioritize include poverty and unemployment, Pulse Asia said.

Around 33 percent of the respondents wanted the government to address poverty, while 29 percent were optimistic that there will be more job opportunities in the country.

Twenty percent of the adult Filipinos emphasized the urgent need to fight graft and corruption in government, while 15 percent wanted the government to ensure the enforcement of law “on all, whether influential or ordinary people.”

Fighting criminality (14 percent), promoting peace in the country (14 percent), and providing assistance to those affected by the prevailing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic (14 percent) also topped the list of issues that the Marcos administration must prioritize.

Other issues that need the government’s attention include the problem of involuntary hunger (12 percent) and the reduction of the amount of taxes paid (9 percent), Pulse Asia said.

Environmental degradation (7 percent), support for the restoration of small businesses (7 percent), Philippine territorial defense (7 percent), and the spread of Covid-19 (7 percent) were the issues deemed less urgent by the respondents.

Protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (5 percent) and terrorism (3 percent) were at the bottom of the list of national issues that need to be given priority, according to the Pulse Asia survey.

Pulse Asia interviewed 1,200 adult Filipinos using an error margin of ± 2.8 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.