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Imports main driver of inflation, says Marcos
By ANNA FELICIA BAJO,GMA Integrated NewsThe Philippine government is already identifying the main drivers of inflation following the surge to 8.0% in November, President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. said Tuesday.
The chief executive underscored that the inflation is "running rampant and out of control."
"We just received the poor news from the Philippine Statistics that November we hit 8%. And we are now trying to identify the areas of the economy that are – that are the main drivers of that inflation. The main drivers of that inflation, unfortunately, are still imported – is still imported inflation," Marcos said in his speech during the 11th Arangkada Philippines Forum 2022.
"So again, import substitution is still a good idea not only for foreign exchange reserve but also so that we can keep our inflation rate down," the President added.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, inflation surged to 8.0%
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The PSA said this was higher than the government's target range of 2% to 4%, and in line with the 7.4% to 8.2% projection range of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), bringing the year-to-date average to 5.6%.
Still, Marcos said the country "is on track to maintain its strong economic performance and achieve the government’s growth target of 6.5% to 7.5% for 2022."
"Unfortunately, although our growth rate looks healthy, our foreign exchange has become – our peso has become a little stronger relative to the other currencies, our unemployment rate is quite reasonable considering the situation," he said.
Marcos said it is the aim of his administration to transform the Philippine economy in order to take advantage of the new realities present in the new normal.
"So to achieve this goal, we require investments that will increase our adoption of electric vehicles [and] build supporting infrastructure; to encourage the growth of sustainable manufacturing and construction; [and] promote green businesses and enterprises in tourism and other sectors," he said.—AOL, GMA Integrated News