The Manila Times

Inflation Filipinos’ biggest concern

BY RED MENDOZA

NEARLY seven out of ten Filipinos are worried about the rising prices of basic goods, according to the latest survey by Pulse Asia. In Pulse Asia’s September 17 to 21 poll, 66 percent of respondents said the government must focus on controlling inflation. Nearly half, or 44 percent, believe that increasing workers’ pay is the prime national concern.

The level of concern regarding inflation is 9 percentage points higher than in the last Pulse Asia survey in June.

Job creation and poverty reaction fol lowed with 35 and 34 percent, respectively, while 22 percent said corruption must be addressed.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said on Wednesday that inflation accelerated to 6.9 percent in September, the highest in four years, mainly driven by higher food prices. PSA Undersecretary Claire Dennis Mapa said that food prices went up in different regions. ”Reducing inflation would really mean reducing food inflation. That really is one of the reasons why inflation went up,” he said.

The survey showed that less than 20 percent of those polled think that criminality and involuntary hunger must be the most pressing concerns of the administration, while 12 percent said it must be law enforcement.

Less than 10 percent cited other concerns such as helping small entrepreneurs, protecting the environment, promoting peace, tax reduction, controlling the

spread of Covid-19, defending national territorial integrity, protecting overseas Filipino workers, and preparing to deal with terroristic threats.

Controlling inflation is the biggest worry among 35 percent of the respondents, followed by inflation, workers’ pay and employment.

Among third-ranked concerns, the most often mentioned are inflation, jobs, poverty, workers’ pay, corruption and involuntary hunger.

Aside from inflation, higher workers’ pay is the only other issue deemed urgent by a majority among all socioeconomic and geographic subgroupings.

Most of the respondents said they approved of the Marcos administration’s programs for calamity response, Covid-19 control, protection of overseas Filipino workers, promoting peace in the country, fighting criminality, law enforcement, job creation, stopping the destruction of environment, increasing workers’ pay, fighting graft and corruption, and defending the integrity and territory against foreign aggression.

The Marcos administration had a negative approval rating on fighting inflation, -11, with 42 percent disapproval, as opposed to a -31 percent approval.

The survey had 1,200 respondents and has a sampling error of plus and minus 2.8 percent nationwide and plus or minus 5.7 percent in Metro Manila, the rest of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

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2022-10-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-07T07:00:00.0000000Z

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The Manila Times