PBBM urged to address food security, price manipulation

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr needs to address food security and possible price manipulation of agricultural products immediately to rein in inflation, an economist said Wednesday.

While the country’s inflation rate slightly eased to 8.6 last February, economist Michael Batu noted in a public briefing that the strongest inflation driver was food prices.

“Kung titingnan mo yung datos galing sa PSA, iyong food price inflation noong nakaraang buwan ay pumalo na sa 10.8 percent, nag-double digits na ito. Ibig sabihin nito, ang nag-drive doon sa 8.6 percent na inflation ay sa pagtaas ng presyo ng pagkain,” he said.

He also urged the Marcos administration to come up with short- and long-term policies to ensure the country’s food security, as this gap was one of the reasons behind food price inflation.

“Dahil food insecure tayo, isa yan sa mga nagda-drive ng food inflation kasi mayroon tayong kakulangan sa suplay ng ibang agricultural products. Iyong iba naman, may sobra-sobrang sup- ply pero nagkakaroon ng price manipulation sa mga markets,” he said.

Batu also noted that the government’s task group on food security, created in 2020, must also look into possible price manipulations in some agricultural products.

“Maganda rin tingnan ng task force na ito ay iyong price manipulation na nangyayari sa iilan nating agricultural sector, para makita natin talaga kung ang cause ba talaga nito ay ang kakulangan ng supply, o pagtaas ng demand, o nagkakaroon ba talaga ng cartel o