Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 1) — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is not keen on being granted special powers to curb inflation, saying the move is unnecessary.
He made the statement on Wednesday amid proposals from some lawmakers to give him or the Department of Agriculture (DA) additional powers to help stabilize rising prices of goods.
“I do not think that it is necessary to ask for special powers,” Marcos, who also serves as DA secretary, told reporters.
“I already have the power to declare an emergency and to control the prices of commodities,” he added. “So, I don’t think there’s any need for more than that.”
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) earlier said the country’s inflation rate may hit as high as 9.3% this February, as it cited higher costs of LPG and the uptick in prices of pork, fish, egg, and sugar.
In January, inflation stood at 8.7%.
Marcos, however, said he remains “more optimistic than the central bank” when it comes to the numbers.
“Wala tayong magagawa sa fuel,” he said. “Wala tayong magagawa doon sa mga iba’t ibang inputs.”
“Pero ‘yung sa agrikultura, kung titignan ninyo, you disaggregate the inflation figures, noong nakaraan, it was 28 percent….” Marcos also said. “Ngayon 11 percent na lang, so ‘yun ang malaking bagay.”
[Translation: We can’t do anything about fuel or other inputs. But in the agriculture industry, if you disaggregate the inflation figures, it was 28 percent in the past. Now, it’s just 11 percent, so that’s a big deal.]
Among those pushing to grant the president special powers to curtail price increases is Albay Rep. Joey Salceda.
Salceda said these may include incentivizing production, providing loans and guarantees to suppliers of essential goods, and investigating possible market abuse, among other measures.
