(The Philippine Star) - September 23, 2018 -
12:00am
MANILA, Philippines —
The rising prices of fuel, which reached as high as P57 per liter this week, is
to blame for soaring inflation, according to President Duterte.
The Chief Executive
discussed the issue of inflation Friday evening, deviating from his usual talk
on the need to eradicate illegal drugs, maintain peace and order and fight
corruption to boost the country’s progress.
“What’s driving
inflation now? Simply it’s the prices of oil,” he said during his speech at the
Asia Pacific Association of Gastroenterology (APAGE) 3rd Inflammatory
Bowel Disease Clinical Forum in Cebu City last Friday.
“It used to be 43. Now
it’s 100 per barrel. It’s more than 100 per barrel now. And I mean, you go
home, you use the car and everything, your aircon, it’s oil. Light, it’s oil.
Everything is oil,” he said, referring to the price of oil in the global
market.
He has been whining
about the Philippines’ lack of the natural source for fuel saying: “God did not
give it to us. He gave it to Indonesia, lots of it to Malaysia and
Brunei. What’s our sin? What…Why God made it that way, I really do not
know.”
Last month, inflation hit 6.4 percent, surpassing the 5.9-percent rate
predicted by the Department of Finance and polls from Bloomberg and Reuters.
“You will look around
anywhere here. This microphone, this book, this glass of water, your suit, is
connected with oil. Because they are made of machines and equipment,” he said,
explaining that these need fuel to operate and would add up to the prices of
goods and commodities. “And that is one of the reasons, it’s not an excuse. I
admit there is inflation. But it’s really – the number one culprit is price of
oil.”
In the same speech,
Duterte reiterated his administration’s fight against corruption and to
maintain peace and order.
“For as long as there
is no law and order, and there is corruption in the government, this country
will never rise,” he said.
Early this month,
Duterte blamed the move of the United States to impose higher interest rates as
contributing to the steep inflation in the country.
“When America raised
the interest, all prices went up,” he said upon arrival from his trip to Jordan
and Israel earlier this month.
He also pointed to US
President Donald Trump’s imposing higher tariffs during his engagement with the
Filipino community in Jordan.
Food airlift
The Philippine Air
Force (PAF) has stepped in to help the Department of Agriculture (DA) transport
basic food items from Mindanao to Metro Manila.
Agriculture Secretary
Emmanuel Piñol said at least two PAF C-130 Hercules cargo transport planes,
which are used to transport war materiel and soldiers to the battle grounds,
are now engaged in airlifting vegetables, fruits and other commodities from
General Santos City and Davao City to Manila.
The use of the C-130s
in airlifting fruits and vegetables is part of the Philippine Food Skyway
Program of the DA, which aims to facilitate the transport of basic food items
from remote production areas to the urban centers.
Piñol said the aircraft
were committed by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and will also be used to
airlift food supplies to Cagayan Valley and Ilocos next week.
DA has opened a
farmers’ outlet where fruits and vegetables are sold at lower prices. About 30
metric tons of fresh vegetables at almost half the price compared to those sold
in Metro Manila markets are available.
Among these are carrots
at P95 per kilo and cabbage at P70 per kilo. Other commodities are also sold
like refined sugar at P49 per kilo, fruits and fish products.
“This development
proves that profiteers and middlemen are responsible for the manipulation of
prices of vegetables and other food items in the market,” Piñol said.
The DA also initiated a
business-matching session among homeowners’ cooperatives, market vendors’
associations and supermarkets and the farmers.
“The business matching
is expected to establish a direct market linkage between the farmers and the
direct buyers to cut out profiteers who have been manipulating prices,” Piñol
said.
Starting next week, at
least six more refrigerated containers filled with vegetables will be shipped
in from Mindanao every week.
Bangko Sentral ng
Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said yesterday the rush of
remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) during the Christmas season
could help ease inflation in the last quarter of the year.
He told a news forum in
Quezon City that at Christmas, remittances surge, and when this happens the
peso-dollar rate will improve.
The peso closed at
P54.0160 on Friday.
Guinigundo said an
improved exchange rate would help slow down inflation, which stood at 6.4
percent last August.
The BSP expects
remittances to increase by four percent this year, or about $29 billion to P30
billion compared to last year’s $28 billion. – With Louise Maureen Simeon, Emmanuel Tupas
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