MANILA — Inflation rate surged to more than three-year high in February 2018 as prices of food, transport and beverages increased, the government reported on Tuesday.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said headline inflation rate picked up by 3.9 percent last month, higher than the 3.4-percent growth in January 2018 and 3.1 percent last year.
Inflation during the month was the highest since September 2014, but still within the 2 to 4-percent target of the government.
The PSA attributed the uptrend to the faster annual gain recorded in the price of food and non-alcoholic beverages (4.8 percent), transport (5.8 percent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (16.9 percent), furnishing, household equipment and routine maintenance of the house (2.5 percent), restaurant and miscellaneous goods and services (2.5 percent), and clothing and footwear (2 percent).
As the inflation rate for February 2018 reached the upper band of the government’s target, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the government should remain vigilant and ready to implement measures that would ease the upside risks to inflation.
“The transitory impact of the TRAIN (Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion) Law and the continued depreciation of the Philippine peso will mainly influence price movements in the coming months, and we must ensure that mitigating measures should be in place,” Pernia said in a statement.
Pernia, also National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General, noted that measures to curb inflation and cushion its impact on the poor are urgently needed.
He said there is a need to expand the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and to fast-track the distribution of unconditional cash transfer (UCT) from the TRAIN.
The NEDA chief also reiterated the call to replace the quantitative restrictions on rice with tariffs in an effort to lower the price of rice and raise revenues for agricultural programs, such as crop diversification and investment in disaster risk resiliency.
“These measures will ensure better stability in the prices of food items and maintain or raise the purchasing power of the bottom 30 percent of households,” he added.
Pernia also cited the need to strengthen the surveillance of businesses’ compliance with the country’s laws and regulations on fair consumer goods pricing to prevent the occurrence of profiteering.
In an earlier statement, Pernia said based on the agency’s calculations, around 0.7 percent of inflation for 2018 will likely be attributable to the effect of TRAIN. (PNA)
