Nanawagan si Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III sa mga economic manager ng bansa na madaliin ang paglatag ng solusyon sa tumataas na inflation sa bansa na umabot na sa 8.7% nitong Enero 2023, pinakamataas sapul noong Nobyembre 2008.

Ginawa ni Pimentel ang pahayag kasabay ng kaniyang pagkadismaya kakulangan ng mga economic manager na kongkretong plano at aksyon para mapababa ang presyo ng mga bilihin.

“We have seen the first symptoms of worsening inflation with the sugar crisis in the second half of 2022 followed by the onion crisis in the last quarter. These should have behooved our economic managers including the agriculture sector to look closely at agricultural production and food supply augmentation,” sabi ni Pimentel.

Binigyang-diin ng PDP Laban chairman at chief fiscalizer ng Senado na kung gumawa lang ng hakbang ang pamahalaan na tutukan at palakasin ang produksyong pang-agrikultura at palakasin ang mga maliit na magsasaka at mga food producer, hindi sana aabot sa 11.2% ang food inflation sa bansa.

“We have known for a long time that there is a gap between our farmers and the market, and the middlemen that usually connect the two earn so much, leaving our farmers shortchanged, but what exactly are the concrete steps we are doing to change this,” sambit ni Pimentel.

“For the bottom 30 percent income households, the inflation rate equates to 9.7 percent. It is disheartening that the poorest in our nation suffer the hardest as prices of essential commodities continue to rise and our government seems to just watch prices fluctuate,” saad pa niya.

Maliban sa kalagayan ng mga magsasaka, dismayado rin si Pimentel sa P33 na dagdag sa ang minimum wage earner ng mga magsasaka noong Hunyo 2022.

“With the increasing inflation, the essential needs that a 570-peso salary for non-agriculture workers and a 533-peso salary for manufacturing, agriculture and service industries can purchase get slimmer and slimmer,” ayon kay Pimentel.

Aniya, sa halip na magpokus sa Maharlika Investment Fund dapat tutukan na lang ng mga economic managers ang pagresolba sa problema ng inflation.

“Unfortunately, I have not seen any concrete plan or a roadmap to address the problem,” diin ni Pimentel.

“There are so many pressing issues that need more of our attention and efforts, we should be prioritizing these especially matters that concern the ordinary and marginalized Filipinos,” sambit pa niya. (Dindo Matining)