President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said that he disagreed with the Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) report that the Philippines’ inflation rate rose to 6.1 percent in June — but did not offer a clear explanation as to why.
“6.1? I think I will have to disagree with that number. We are not that high,” the president said during a press briefing after his very first Cabinet meeting yesterday.
The rate is nearly double last year’s inflation rate, when the country clocked in at 3.7 percent in June 2021. In May of this year, inflation was recorded at 5.7 percent.
According to the PSA, the higher annual growth rate in food and beverage prices, which rose from 4.9 percent in May to 6 percent in June, contributed to the inflation rate. Another contributing factor is transportation costs, which rose to 17.1 percent in June from 14.6 percent in May.
PSA chief Claire Dennis Mapa said, “The Philippine Statistics Authority stands by its report.”
Marcos mentioned that the country may surpass the government’s yearly inflation target of 4 percent.
“Our targets were less four percent or less. Unfortunately, it looks like we may cross that threshold,” he said. The current year-to-date inflation figure for this year is 4.4%.
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