(Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte has “expressed alarm” over the rising inflation rate which was registered at 5.7 percent this July, and ordered his cabinet team to come up with measures to address this price rise of goods and services.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that the cabinet economic team is already trying to find solutions to stem the rise in prices.
Duterte’s economic managers are also considering the proposal of House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to lower tariffs in food products, and the proposal of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol to put zero tariffs on imported fish products.
Piñol also suggested putting Suggested Retail Price (SRP) tags on fish products.
“The President has previously expressed alarm over rising inflation. The recommendation given by Speaker Arroyo was considered by the economic cluster. I clarified with Secretary Piñol that his recommendation is the issuance of SRPs for fish products, except that… and as far as importation of fish products is concerned, there is a restriction by law that it cannot be delivered immediately to the market,” Roque said in a press briefing.
“But we’re looking at all aspects of further alleviation measures,” he noted.
Roque said that the President has also repeated his warning against rice hoarders and rice cartels, and will use the “full power of the state” to go after them, and force open if need be the rice hoarders’ warehouses.
“Of course, the statement of the President against all rice hoarders was because the increase in the price of rice was a major contributor to the over-all increase in the inflation. And that’s why the President has made it very clear. He will use the full power of the state to break open if need be the warehouses of rice hoarders,” he said.
The 5.7 inflation rate posted last month was the highest in five years, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
(Eagle News Service)