Marcos approves interagency committee to combat inflation

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has approved the creation of a high-level inter-agency advisory body to mitigate inflation and ensure food and energy security, according to National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

Balisacan said the advisory body will be called Interagency Committee on Inflation and Market Oautlook.

“This newly formed committee shall serve as an advisory body to the President and the Cabinet on measure to mitigate inflation and ensure food and energy security while balancing the interests of local food producers, consumers, and the overall economy,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

The interagency committee will be co-chaired by NEDA and the Department of Finance (DOF), with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) as vice chair.

The advisory body to the Chief Executive will also be composed of the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

It will also have the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and Philippine Competition Commis-

DTI pushes strategies to boost growth of creative industries

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary sion (PCC) as its resource institutions.

Alfredo Pascual said challenges in the creative industries need to be addressed for the development of the local sector and to determine the contribution of the sector to the economy.

“The advisory body will lead the close monitoring of inflation (particularly on food and energy and their main drivers and causes), facilitate regular and efficient data-sharing among concerned agencies, assess the supply-demand situation for energy and essential food commodities, provide forward estimates given various scenarios, and provide timely recommendations to the President and relevant agencies on measures to curb possible price spikes and promote food and energy security,” Balisacan added.

The advisory group will also

FMARCOS, P10

During the opening of the 2nd Philippine Creative Industries Summit on Tuesday, Pascual identified the strategies to address the bottlenecks in the creative industries through the Malikhaing Pinoy or Creative Philippines campaign.

“Malikhaing Pinoy is our holistic approach to addressing the constraints and barriers to growth of the creative industries. It is a flagship initiative well-informed by the various sector-specific industry studies and roadmaps carried out by the DTI with support from our champions from Congress,” Pascual said.

He said studies in the creative industries’ sub-sectors will be conducted and statistical data shall be gathered, particularly the actual contribution of the creative industries in terms of employ- ment, trade and gross domestic product.

“To allow us to measure the creative industries’ economic contributions accurately, we will continue working with the Philippine Statistics Authority and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines to establish a well-defined and reliable statistical system through the Creative Industries Satellite Account,” he added.

Pascual also encouraged stakeholders to submit roadmap proposals for sub-sectors such as architecture and landscapes, eSports, fashion and textile, furniture and fixtures, gifts, decors, housewares, graphic design and jewelry.

The trade chief is also pushing for improving access to capital for the creative industries.

“We will establish the Creative Venture Fund, consistent with the goals of PCIDA (Philippine Creative Industries Development Act), and shall be used to co-finance the business expansion of creative enterprises and individuals. In addition to this venture