LOWER PRICES
SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin Romualdez vowed to the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that the Lower House will continue to pursue its campaign to bring down food inflation or temper the increase in food prices and inflation in general.
Romualdez said as he welcomed the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report that inflation fell to 4.1 percent from 4.9 percent last month.
He said the House of Representatives “remains dedicated to crafting and implementing policies that will continue to curb inflation and foster a more stable and prosperous economy.”
“We are optimistic that these efforts will yield even more positive results, contributing to the joy and peace of the holiday season for every Filipino family. Together, we can look forward to a brighter and more prosperous new year,” he stressed.
The House leader attributed the significant fall in inflation to intervention measures taken by President Marcos and supported by him and his colleagues in the House of Representatives.
In particular, Romualdez cited the P45-per-kilo cap on the price of rice the President imposed at the start of September.
“We will continue to monitor the prices of rice and other staples. If we notice an unreasonable and unjustified increase, we will not hesitate to recommend to the President the reimposition of a price limit,” Speaker Romualdez said.
Romualdez said he has been receiving complaints that low-priced rice is now seldom available in the market, which he added is flooded with varieties selling for P50-P60 per kilo.
He said that based on the Department of Agriculture (DA) reports, rice farmers have just harvested their October crop.
On the part of the House, the Speaker pointed out that he and his colleagues would launch inquiries when needed to stop hoarding, profiteering, price manipulation, smuggling, and similar practices and to remove bottlenecks in the value chain.
