By Clarissa Delos Reyes
Philippines’ President Ferdinand R. Marcos has allayed concerns about soaring inflation rates.
“We may have to defend the Peso in the coming months, but the overall forecast is that we are still doing better than other countries in terms of inflation, though economic developments are still anticipated,” the President said.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) expects inflation in the country at 5.3 percent in 2022 and 4.3% in 2023.
Meanwhile, the World Bank’s latest forecast puts the Philippines’ growth at 6.5 percent in 2022 and 5.8 percent in 2023.
“The Philippines and our Asian neighbors are not spared from these trends – major economies in the ASEAN, such as Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, have seen their inflation rates accelerate in the past year,” National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director-general and Socioeconomic planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said.
The unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent in August 2022, while the labor force participation rate rose to 66.1 percent.
Balisacan explained that these figures are an indication that the opening or reopening of the economy is having its intended effects.
The Chief Executive met with his economic team on Tuesday to discuss policy directions for the rest of the year and the first quarter of next year, with inflation being the number one priority.
“We will continue to use interest rates to mitigate the effects,” the President said in a post.
