What inflation? DTI says prices of goods down

Prevailing prices of canned goods and major staples have actually dropped this month, the Department of Trade and Industry said, refuting Filipinos’ perception that the government has not controlled the country’s inflation.
 
“It’s been said that inflation is all but inevitable, and we do acknowledge the common Filipino’s concern over the prices of commodities. But the truth is that inflation in the Philippines has been the lowest in two and a half years,” DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo said in a statement.
 
Domingo added that the Philippines’ inflation rate in March was at 2.6 percent, even lower than the target inflation rate of three to five percent released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for 2012.
 
This is in contrast to a recent Pulse Asia survey which revealed that President Benigno Aquino III’s administration received the lowest and the only negative net approval rating on the issue of controlling inflation.
 
DTI’s statement also showed that compared to the previous month, the prevailing prices of chicken went down from P130 to P120; cabbage, from P40 to P30; calamansi, from P90 to P80; corned beef, from P46.75 to P44.50; among others.
 
Construction materials such as steel wires (from P60 to P58) and steel bars (from P193 to P190) also experienced a price decrease, it noted.
 
“The country’s sound macro-economic fundamentals have so far been able to keep prices relatively stable, and the Philippines has stood its ground economically, despite increased uncertainty in the global markets,” Domingo said, citing the country's inflation rate as among the lowest in Southeast Asia.
 
The Aquino administration has maintained that its programs on transparency and accountability in government will ultimately lead to jobs and livelihood opportunities by attracting more investments to the country.
 
“I think it’s clear by now that good governance has a causal relationship with good economics,” Domingo said.