TAGUM CITY, Davao del Norte (PIA) – – The spike in inflation rate here “calls for better planning to ease the inflationary situation,” said chief statistical specialist Pepito Amoyen in a press conference on Davao del Norte May 2024 Inflation Rate.
Amoyen suggested among the strategies to cushion the impact of the spike in inflation rate is “giving any assistance that they could have to their constituents.”
In his report, Amoyen showed the continued inflation rate uptick at 4.9 percent in May from 4.1 percent in April.
The May 2024 inflation rate in Davao del Norte was estimated at 1.8 percent from 3.1 percent in May 2023.
The PSA report showed that the main sources of acceleration of the spike were housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which substantially shared a 78.4 percent to the overall uptrend of the Davao del Norte inflation rate.
The food and non-alcoholic beverages sector chipped in a share of 19.9 percent while the personal care and miscellaneous goods and services sector shared 0.9 percent of the inflation rate.
“Ang hangarin lang ng (the only aim of the) PSA is to report the inflationary report of our province which is the basis on what plans they could have for them to be able to counter the inflation among Dabaonon,” he said in answer to the query about his call to concerned national line agencies and the LGUs.
“It is actually a call for better planning on how we are going to ease the inflationary situation by giving any assistance that they could have to their constituents,” he added.
Aside from explaining that the higher prices of commodities can also cause a diminishing purchasing power, Amoyen also said that high inflation rates can also trigger a spike in interest rates “which will make it more expensive for businesses and households to borrow.”
“Ang (The) demand of goods and services, and the agri-economic activity, dahil sa taas ng (due to high) inflation, there is a possibility that it may [also] slow down,” he said. (JMD, PIA XI)
