INFLATION EASES IN FEB 2023, GOV’T

TO RECALIBRATE MITIGATING
STRATEGIES—NEDA
Last modified on March 7, 2023

MARCH 7, 2023 – As the inflation rate eases in February 2023, the National
Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) stressed the need to recalibrate
government strategies to alleviate the impact of higher commodity prices.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported today that the country’s headline inflation
rate marginally slowed down to 8.6 percent in February 2023 from 8.7 percent in
January 2023, as price increases of certain food commodities and energy eased.

However, energy and food inflation remained the top contributors to inflation,
accounting for 1.0 and 0.9 percentage points (ppt), respectively. This was followed by
restaurant services contributing 0.8 ppt and house rentals with 0.7 ppt. Meanwhile,
public transport contributed 0.6 ppt.

“We must rethink our strategies to combat rising food prices. The country’s current
high inflation is largely driven by domestic, supply-side constraints. Agricultural
imports were ill-timed and food supplies have been inadequate. The solution is to get
to the root of the problem, including fixing the bottlenecks along all segments of the
agricultural value chain,” said NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan.

“We recommend the urgent creation of a high-level inter-agency committee to advise

the President and the Cabinet on measures to keep food prices stable and ensure food
security for all Filipinos, especially the poor whose expenditures are largely
constituted by food. We must immediately address this issue if we are to remain on
track to meeting our poverty reduction targets for the medium term,” he added.

The country’s chief economist also underscored the importance of targeted social
protection programs in helping the nation’s poorest families and vulnerable sectors
cope with the impact of inflation.

“The government continues to implement calibrated and swift measures to arrest

inflation and its impact, including addressing supply issues especially in food
products, providing targeted cash transfers and social protection programs to the most
vulnerable sectors of the society, and ensuring access to affordable and reliable energy
sources,” Balisacan said.
[Related: P646B worth of social programs, services to cushion inflation]

“These short-term assistance programs will be complemented by productivity- and

efficiency-enhancing measures in the medium term, as outlined in the Philippine
Development Plan 2023-2028,” Balisacan added.

[Download the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 here]