CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — In response to the challenges posed by inflation, government agencies in northern Mindanao continue to implement measures to alleviate the impacts of rising prices and extend support to affected sectors.
The Department of Agriculture (DA)-10 regularly monitors basic agricultural commodities to ensure price stability and availability for consumers. This includes monitoring the weekly retail price and farm gate price.
In addressing concerns regarding the impact of El Niño on vegetable farmers, DA-10 has initiated various support programs, including the provision of seeds, garden tools, and fertilizers.
The DA also encourages farmers to seek assistance from their offices. “Bisan gani ang atoang mga walk-in, pwede ra makapangayo og seeds sa opisina (even our walk-in clients can request seeds from our office),” said Jenny Alcobilla during the recent media forum on the May 2024 Regional Inflation Report conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-10.
According to PSA’s report, northern Mindanao’s inflation rate slightly increased to 4.7 percent in May 2024 from 4.5 percent the previous month. This rise was driven by higher prices in food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport, restaurants, and accommodation services.
PSA-10 Regional Director Janith Aves noted that the food and non-alcoholic beverages sector led the inflation surge during the month, reaching 8.4 percent, up from 7.9 percent in April. Rising vegetable prices, particularly eggplant, were significant contributors. Additionally, meat prices (fresh chicken) and oil prices (cooking oil) experienced slight increases.
The transport sector also exhibited inflation growth, with a rate of 5.2 percent in May compared to 4 percent in April. Aves revealed that passenger transport by sea and inland waterways, which increased from 3.8 percent to 30.3 percent, was the primary driver of transport inflation.
Fluctuations in fuel prices also played a role, with diesel experiencing a slight inflation of 1.2 percent and gasoline prices continuing to rise to 4.8 percent.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)-10 is implementing measures to provide relief to motorists and commuters affected by rising fuel prices.
These include the provision of fuel subsidies and the ongoing service contracting program.
“In service contracting program, naa nata sa (we are now in) Phase 4. We have a budget of more than P60 million and we started Phase 4 in April and we end on June 15. We have 44 cooperatives with more than 2,000 units. So, these cooperatives matagaan sila og incentives based sa ilang pagdagan (will be given incentives based on their operation),” said LTFRB records officer Maulana Ahmad III.
He further stated that fuel subsidies have been facilitated for PUV operators since 2021, with distributions completed for 2022 and 2023. This year, P57 million is expected to be released to 7,970 target beneficiaries. “We are still waiting for the guidelines,” he added. (APB/PIA-10)
