President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. assured the public that the Philippine economy on track to sustain its good economic performance and meet the government’s 2022 growth objective of 6.5 to 7.5 percent.
This, despite the fact that the country is still recovering from the bad effects of the Covid-19 outbreak, as the Philippines’ inflation rate rose to 8% as of November 2022.
Although the Philippine GDP rate appears to be good, he claims inflation is “rampant and out of control.”
“We just received the poor news from the Philippine Statistics that November, we hit 8 percent. The main drivers of that inflation, unfortunately, are still imported – is still imported inflation. So again, import substitution is still a good idea not only for foreign exchange reserve but also so that we can keep our inflation rate down,” said Marcos during the 11th Arangkada Philippines Forum in Pasay City.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), inflation reached 8% last month, up from 7.7% in October.
According to PSA deputy national statistician Divina Gracia del Prado, the current figure represents the country’s “highest recorded inflation since November 2008, when it rose to 9.1 percent amid a global financial crisis.”
Marcos stated that the government is now identifying the sectors of the economy that are the primary drivers of inflation, such as imports.
To encourage more foreign direct investments, Marcos said his government would continue to forge tighter connections with various chambers of business because he cherishes the private sector’s engagement in the country’s drive for global economic standing.
He asked both local and international business leaders to engage in critical sectors such as education and skills training, process digitization, and research and development to help the government “transform” the Philippine economy.
“I consider the participation of the private sector, both local and foreign, to be absolutely to our success. So that is why we must continue this partnership between the chambers of commerce, the private sector and government,” he said.
