by Miguel Antonio R. Magrata
If there is another Filipino trait that standout and would be most useful in times like today, it would be being resourceful or ‘madiskarte’. Amidst the continuous soaring of basic commodities’ prices, Filipinos are trying to manage by tightening their pockets and finding creative ways to meet their basic needs.
Given the current situation, it may be the expected people’s course of action since Filipinos are known to be able to find a ‘silver lining’ in every tough situation. It may be good, but it is also important not to forget that it is not something to be romanticized and accustomed to because this practice somehow made leaders of our country complacent even if they already know that the problem could get worse eventually.
Inflation is indeed a global problem and as the government would always say, the rise in prices is due to external factors such as the weakening of the peso against the dollar and the high price of petroleum products in the world market, which are beyond their control. We have seen how every month, a specific food commodity takes the spotlight of having its price reach to almost unimaginable, from rice, to sugar, to potato, garlic, tomatoes, and now onions, which when further investigations were conducted branched out and revealed deeper problems.
This November, based on the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data, the country recorded an 8% inflation rate. This is the highest recorded rate in the last 14 years after the 9.1% inflation rate in 2008 under the Arroyo administration. While the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a statement Tuesday last week that domestic inflation rate would range between 7.4% and 8.4% for November 2022, with peak to be either in December 2022 or January 2023. They are also confident that we will be on a target-consistent path and said that the moment the inflation rate goes down, it will continue to go down. However, the big question would be when.
The government has the responsibility to us as their citizens. As they monitor price developments and predict the rate of inflation in the coming months, they should also provide concrete and sustainable solutions and services in which the effect must be felt by everyone. Fundamental causes of high inflation rate should be directly addressed. Because they have the power, they can intervene in the supplies by providing support to local production of food or to our farmers as this will help control the increase in food prices. They can also implement different price control methods, suspend taxes such as value added tax and oil excise tax, increase the minimum worker’s wage to at least a rate of family living wage, and give cash assistance to the poorest families.
With Christmas around the corner and the predicted peak of the inflation rate, our celebration will be merry. Would at least a small celebration with a few Noche Buena foods to share with our family be feasible? Or would we not be celebrating at all and choose to work instead because of what could be earned for that day since it would be paid double?
TAGS: Inflation, inflation rate, 8% inflation rate, PSA, domestic inflation rate
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