Government Vows Continued Support For Vulnerable Sectors Amidst Rising Commodity Prices

Malacañang has assured continued support for the most vulnerable sectors in the country while implementing measures to respond to rising prices as inflation inched up in September this year.

Higher food inflation was recorded in rice (17.9 percent from 8.7 percent), meat (1.3 percent from -0.1 percent), fruits (11.6 percent from 9.6 percent), and corn (1.6 percent from 0.9 percent).

This comes after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that inflation in September 2023 increased to 6.1 percent, up from 5.3 percent in August, bringing the year-to-date inflation to 6.6 percent.

According to the PSA, the increase is primarily due to higher food inflation, which rose to 10.0 percent last month from 8.2 percent in August.

Higher food inflation was recorded in rice (17.9 percent from 8.7 percent), meat (1.3 percent from -0.1 percent), fruits (11.6 percent from 9.6 percent), and corn (1.6 percent from 0.9 percent).

The prices of fish, vegetables, sugar, eggs, dairy products, bread, and other cereals recorded slower inflation.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said, "The government is committed to providing targeted assistance to the affected vulnerable segments of the population while food prices remain elevated."

He mentioned that among the government initiatives is the Department of Social Welfare and Development's (DSWD) digital Food Stamp Program, which was launched on September 29, 2023.

The program aims to address the lingering incidence of food poverty and malnutrition among low-income Filipino households by providing P3,000 worth of monthly meal augmentation, which could benefit families classified as "food poor" by the PSA, along with pregnant and nursing mothers.

The agency will also provide a P10,000 cash subsidy to 78,000 farmers listed in the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). Rice farmers, on the other hand, are set to receive P5,000 as financial assistance to help sustain their productivity amid the increasing cost of production.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) also launched in September the provision of fuel subsidies to 74,089 public utility vehicles.

Earlier, the National Food Authority (NFA) Council set a new buying price for palay (unhusked rice), raising the buying price of dry palay from P19.00 to P23.00 and the buying price of wet palay from P16.00 to P19.00. This increase aims to provide Filipino farmers with higher income.

Balisacan added, "As we implement short-term measures to ease the negative effects of inflation, it is imperative that we also address our long-term food supply issues by providing support for our local farmers to boost their productivity and resilience. These include investing in irrigation, modern high-yielding varieties, pest control, and logistics."

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