MANILA – House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the government could slow inflation in 3 months if agriculture gets adequate support.
Inflation zoomed to 6.4 percent in August, the fastest in nearly 10 years driven mainly by food prices as the monsoon season hit production.
“What the economic managers did was that they poured a lot of support to the agricultural sector both for production and for importing rice,” Arroyo told reporters, recalling measures she instituted as president.
“So I guess my message is it can be done and I believe that our economic managers are doing something to address the situation,” she said.
From a peak of 6.6 percent in March 2009, Arroyo said she was able to slow inflation to 1.5 percent, and later to 0.2 percent.
Arroyo said her “focal person” for counter-inflation measures, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, made “a lot of sense” in his suggestions to government.
“So let’s give a chance to our economic managers to be able to address the situation,” she said.
The Department of Agriculture needs to do improve irrigation and flood control and stop dynamite fishing that damages coral reefs, said BRICS Strategic Studies founder Herman Tiu.
Bringing down food prices cannot be solved by replacing rice import quotas with tariffs alone, said businessman Wilson Lee Flores.
“Kulang sa planning at strategy. Hindi sustainable ang mga policies,” he said. “Band aid lang ‘yan. Kailangan pagandahin ang agri [agriculture]. Something is wrong sa agri department.” (ABS-CBN News)
