MISS PAEZ: Magandang umaga, Malacañang Press Corps, and welcome to our press briefing this morning, March 7, 2023.

This morning, we had a sectoral meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. along with other key government agencies; Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno presented to the President ways to address inflation.

Para ibahagi ang mas detalyadong impormasyon ukol dito, kasama natin ngayon si Secretary Benjamin Diokno. Secretary?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Thank you very much. First, good news, iyong inflation, I’m sure you already know, right? February inflation was slightly lower than the January inflation – 8.6% compared to 8.7 in January. Ibig sabihin nito, nag-level up na, baka slide pababa, and that we forecast that maybe by around October, it will go down to four percent, two to four percent level na ini-expect ng BSP.

In fact, iyong inflation for February, ang forecast ng BSP is 8.5 to 9.3, right? They forecasted that last week. So the actual inflation number is nearer the end to lower end of the forecast. So that’s good news.

Now, I will leave with you the full deck. I cleared this with the President para mas marami kayong masulat ‘no dahil napaka-comprehensive ng report namin sa President, and I cleared it with him. Sabi niya, “You can share it with the press.” Unang-una, binanggit namin iyong anong sources ng inflation. Ang lumalabas ay talagang food items ‘no, so major items like vegetables, meat, sugar, fish. And then so in relation to that, I reported kung gaano karami tayong kailangang angkatin na rice, yellow corn, raw and refined sugar, pork and fish, so I stated that. And we will leave you the exact number and narito iyon ‘no, so I don’t have to tell you right now.

And then I emphasized that in order to tackle inflation, talagang whole-of-government approach ‘no. So ang BSP naman ay ginagawa niya ang kaniyang role, in fact, ang BSP natin ay one of the most aggressive in this part of the world ‘no in terms of adjusting the policy rate. Second sa aggressiveness is Korea, but otherwise, tayo ang pinaka-aggressive ‘no.

I remember, when I left BSP ang interest rate natin is two percent. Ngayon, nasa six percent na tayo; ang adjustment niya is 400 basis points. Kasi iyong 100 basis point is equivalent to one percent. So from two percent noong umalis ako sa BSP, ngayon six percent na ang interest rate natin ‘no, so ginagawa ng monetary policy iyong dapat niyang gawin.

Now, sabi ko, ang pressure ngayon is on the fiscal side. Kailangan nating tutukan iyong mga presyo ng mga commodities, and then we told the President what are the short-term measures and what are the long-term measures.

So, for example, doon sa tinatawag naming supply chain, pinag-usapan namin iyong farm production – anong gagawin sa production and then kung kailangang mag-import because there is a deficit, and then what we’ll do post-harvest, warehousing, distribution and then transport of goods – so iyon ang mga pinag-usapan namin. Kailangan tayo mag-angkat ng fertilizers sa mga ibang bansa kasi kailangan natin iyon for agricultural production. So we have right now, we can import from Saudi Arabia and China.

And then, we have to focus on agricultural production and productivity, and then marami namang programa tayo doon sa Budget na nakatutok dito sa agricultural production. Iyon, diniskas [discussed] ko rin kay President iyon. And then … what else?

And then, may mga requirements kasi na naka-delay ng paglabas ng produkto from … let’s say kapag nag-angkat ka, bago mo mailabas sa Customs, maraming mga kailangang mga requirements, ganoon. So these are again part of the recommendation. For example, fast-tracking government processing on clearances for agricultural goods, and I’ll mention this pero magbibigay din kami sa inyo. Ito na iyan, iyan, iyan.

Okay, so for example, removal of the certificate of necessity to import or CNI for fish; tapos, digitalized and centralized the sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance system. Kasi I understand, iyong sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance, dati computerized ito noong panahon ni GMA, tapos noong panahon ni PNoy, ginawang manual so nakabagal ‘no. So ngayon, we will computerized it again ‘no.

And then, iyong tinatawag naming, “Implement the equivalence principle of the sanitary and phytosanitary agreement.” Anong ibig sabihin nito? Ito, parang sa vaccine eh, iyong nangyari sa vaccine. Sabi sa US, okay na sa FDA nila, ‘di ba, sabi ng … okay na itong klase ng vaccine na ito. Pagdating dito sa atin, ini-examine natin ulit ‘di ba, dumadaan ulit sa FDA. Okay na nga sa US eh, iyong Pfizer, mga Moderna, ganoon. So ngayon, ang sinasabi namin na equivalence, kapag in-okay na iyon sa ibang bansa at reliable naman iyong approval, huwag na nating uulitin ‘di ba para mabilis ang pag-release.

So that’s one. And then, remove the required authority to release imported goods or ATRIG, iyon; ito naman ay BIR, Customs. So sinabi ko kay Presidente, to the extent na puwede naman itong tanggalin legally ay tatanggalin natin para mabilis lang ang labas ng food imports from the Customs ‘no.

And then, kailangan, ang sabi namin, kailangan ng early warning system. So magkakaroon ng isang komite na finorm [formed] ng Presidente na chair ako at co-chair ko si Secretary Balisacan [ng] NEDA, vice-chairman si DBM Secretary – si Mina – and then member noon ang Agriculture, member ang DTI at member din ang DILG at saka DOST. Itong komite na ito ay this is called “Inter-Agency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook”. So hindi na magiging ad hoc iyong … Kasi parang nagki-create ng committee kapag mag-i-import na ‘no, ganoon. Eh minsan mali iyong timing kasi magdidesisyon ka na mag-import tapos darating dito sa atin eh tamang-tama nag-aani naman iyong mga farmers, so umaangal talaga sila. So dapat talaga ay ipo-forecast mo iyong… there should be a scientific, science-based forecast ‘no. Madali namang mag-forecast ng production eh – gamitin mo ang satellite o kaya iyong … para makita mo na kapag nagtanim pa lang, malalaman mo na how many hectarage had been planted, so nakikita mo iyong development. Tapos kung magkaroon ng bagyo, makikita mo rin through satellite. So we will use that kind of model to forecast.

So this will be a permanent committee. And trabaho nito ay, iyon na nga, to come up with the demand and supply situation, and we will report to the President on a monthly basis kung ano ang sitwasyon – kung kailangang mag-angkat, mag-aangkat tayo. So hindi na ad hoc iyong decision to import kung kailangan mag-import ‘no.

And then, mayroon din tayong tinatawag na—binabasa ninyo na iyong …. May mga rekomendasyon din tayo tungkol sa— Ah, napakaimportante rin sabi namin na since mataas ang inflation, siguro ipagpatuloy natin iyong mga ayuda na binibigay natin sa mga [may] kailangan. So itutuloy natin iyong Kadiwa, in fact, we will expand the Kadiwa program; we will continue the provision of fuel discounts; iyong programa for the farmers and the fisherfolk; and then, we will extend the targeted cash transfer program for 2023.

Ano itong Cash Transfer Program? Ito ay P500 for two months, so that means P1,000 for 9.3 million households, ibibigay na natin ito. Na-identify na namin kung saan kukunin ang pera and siguro in a few days or in a few weeks, maibibigay na natin ito sa mga naapektuhan ng inflation.

And then, pinakita rin namin na mayroong total na P26.6 billion sa subsidies for the vulnerable sectors. So, ito iyong mga fertilizer discount, voucher, iyong fuel discount on farmers and fisherfolks, fuel subsidy to transport sector affected by the rising fuel cost. So itong mga jeepney drivers, tricycle drivers and so forth and so on, they will get subsidies. And then, we will extend, as I mentioned, the targeted cash transfer program of P9.3 billion. A total of 26.6 billion. So, these will be the subsidies for the vulnerable sector.

And then, magki-create din tayo ng tinatawag na economic development group, this is economic development group para mas mabilis ang pag-address ng mga problema sa ekonomiya natin. I will be the chairman, co-chair ko si NEDA and the members will be PMS, DTI, DBM, DA, DPWH. I don’t know what slide is this, but I think you have a copy there. Ang Secretariat nito ay NEDA.

Nag-identify din kami ng mga batas na kailangang ipasa, long-term naman ito, for example iyong New Agrarian Emancipation Act. That’s number one. I understand, this was passed the house, naipasa na ito sa Senado. Ang pakay ng batas na ito is condonation of agrarian reform beneficiaries. Mga worth P58 billion, so iyong mga pagkakautang ng mga small farmers, iko-condole na lang siya. Ang this will allow farmers to focus now on their efforts to increase production rather than, iniisip pa nila paano ko babayaran itong lupa na ito. So, mag-focus na lang sila sa production.

Secondly, the other bill that we are going to push is the National Land Use Act. Ang ibig sabihin nito mag-a-allocate tayo ng mga lupa, save for protection, for consultation, for production, means for agriculture and fisheries, and settlement development this is for housing and then infrastructure development for transportation, communication, water resources, social infrastructure and so on.

So, ang mangyayari nito, hindi muna iyong mga agriculture land kino-convert into mga housing na ganoon. So, naka-set aside talaga iyong agricultural land, so they will not be converted into other use. And then, we also have, also proposed the livestock development and competitiveness bill. Ito ay naka-address sa mga poultry and hogs. Kailangang i-reduce natin iyong tariff na sa corn to 5%, uniform 5%. Napakaimportante kasi iyong corn sa production ng hogs and poultry.

And then, we also proposed amendments to the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation, hence so forth. So, nasa inyo rin ang listahan niyan ano. And then, finally, we have also proposed the creation of the Economic Development Group. So, the creation of the Economic Development Group with the following composition. Chairperson is the Department of Finance, Co-chair ko si NEDA and then the members are PMS, DTI, DBM, Department of Agriculture, Department of Public Works and Highways, DOTr, DICT, Department of Energy, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Transportation, DILG and DOLE. And Secretariat nito ay NEDA.

And then, pinakita rin namin na napakaimportante na i-address natin iyong energy, kasi isang complaint talaga sa Pilipinas ay napakamahal ng energy cost. So, diniskas [discussed] namin iyon and sinabi naman natin na magkakaroon ng Energy Conservation Plan on the demand side. Kasi hindi naman tayo makaka-influence sa supply side kung mahal ang presyo ng gasolina World Market, hindi natin ma-influence iyon. But we can start conserving. So, isa sa proposal ay pa-uumpisahan ng Department of Energy ay magkakaroon siya ng change ng time ng pagpasok ninyo sa opisina, umpisahan iyan ng 7, tapos matatapos siya ng 4. So, ito iyong daylight saving time, saka sasabayan niya iyong sunrise, so mas maaga siya. And then, I think kapag Friday, work from home kapag Friday.

So, that is one way, kapag nag-succeed iyong experiment ng DOE na iyon, baka i-adapt ng ibang agency iyon. Tapos babawasan natin, ire-require natin, hindi ko alam kung ano ang temperature natin dito ngayon.

MISS PAEZ: Twenty-four.

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Iri-require natin na 25, nakalagay dito, sabi 24. Sabi ko, mababa pa iyong 24, gawin mong 25. Kasi alam ko noon sa … noong during the energy crisis, nagpunta ako sa China, buong China 25. Wala ka naman masyadong 24, 25, pero malaki ang masi-save mo, kapag 25. So, iyon, so talagang napaka-comprehensive noong presentation na ito and sana ma-address na natin iyong inflation problem. Hindi kaagad-agad iyan maso-solve. But ang forecast namin is, by siguro October this year ay bababa na siya sa 4%, pababa na siyang ganoon muli. And then by 2024, ang average inflation will be 3.1, okay, that’s the forecast.

Now, I’m ready to answer your questions, napakahaba na.

MISS PAEZ: Thank you for laying out all of the government approach, the short-term plans and, of course, the medium and long-term plans. Now, are there any questions from the media?

Q: Hello po, sir. Yong doon sa targeted Cash Transfer Program. Sabi po ninyo P500 for two months, P1,000 for 1.3 million households, so P500 every month for two months.

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Two months. At saka household iyon ha, hindi individual, household iyon.

KATRINA DOMINGO/ABS-CBN: Hi, sir. Good morning. Sir, on a slightly different topic, but still in the realm of finance.

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Ang dami-dami ko ng diniskas [discussed] eh.

KATRINA DOMINGO/ABS-CBN: Because you answered most of the questions already in the presentation. Anyway, sir, these developed nations are having a summit in Doha right now and some nations are calling for financial institutions to move beyond per capita gross domestic product as the only measure of development. What is the Philippines’ stand on this point? Do you share the same call?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Maraming measures kasi ng developments, but so far ang pinaka-ano nga is iyong per capita income. Mayroon din namang gross national happiness, may mga ganoong measure eh. Eh, medyo mahirap i-measure iyon. So, our target is to attain what we call upper middle income status , if the earliest, by 2024. Ano ang ibig sabihin noon? Per capita income noon is around $4,000 and above or to around $16,000. To me, that’s still the best measure.

KATRINA DOMINGO/ABS-CBN: Sir, follow-up question lang po. UN Secretary Antonio Gutierrez calls current interest rates predatory. Does the DOF share the same sentiment?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: As what?

KATRINA DOMINGO/ABS-CBN: As predatory. Sir, just to give context. Para lang po may context iyong answer ninyo. He condemned a global financial system saying it is designed by wealthy countries largely to their benefit and that without cash reserves the poor nations were being forced to pay predatory interest rates.

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Well, siguro he’s referring to some countries in Latin America and in Africa where interest rates can go up as high as 20%, mga ganoon. Sa atin naman, hindi naman; I think it’s still reasonable. In fact noong time, I think before EDSA 1, umabot ang interest rate natin ng around 40% eh because of inflation. But those were the days na masyado nang—malayo na tayo doon sa ganoong klaseng situation and I think our interest rates are reasonable considering the rate of inflation.

Q: Thank you, sir.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: We have a question here from Sam Medenilla of Business Mirror. Of course you mentioned that agriculture is one of the driving forces of inflation; our food, security is one of the main issues that we need to address in addition to energy. But his question is: Are economic managers restudying proposal to deregulate or liberalize the sugar industry to allow better market competition and supply?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: All right. Ang model namin for normalization is the rice tariffication ‘no. Alam mo in the past, I think for the last 50 years before the rice tariffication, rice has always been the major source of inflation in the country. Now when we adopted the tariffication, in other words, anybody now can import rice as long as they pay a certain amount. It’s no longer a major source of inflation kasi people or businessmen can decide to import or not to import, right? And so iyon ang model namin, and, in other industry – sugar and even in meat ‘no.

So that is the model. Magdidesisyon lang kami kung ano iyong appropriate tariff. And then we are also committed to use whatever is the tariff to improve the industry, and ganoon ang nangyari sa rice ‘no. Kasi in the past talagang every year, year in-year out, sina-subsidize namin iyong National Food Authority ‘no tapos mataas pa rin iyong rice, so we decided to tariffy.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Thank you. I believe, Mariz Umali of GMA-7.

MARIZ UMALI/GMA-7: Good morning, Secretary. Sir, first of all, when you mentioned the decrease in the inflation rate from 8.7 to 8.6, of course you mentioned that it is good news. But gaano po kalaki ito relative to the size of our economy – the .1% decrease in the inflation rate?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Usually ang inflation mini-measure iyan year-on-year like January this year compared to January last year. Pero recently kinu-consider na rin namin iyong month-on-month ‘no. For example, iyong from December to January if I’m not mistaken, ang month-on-month noon is 1.7% – multiply that by 12 ang taas noon ‘no; so ngayon naman, bumaba naman siya from January to Feb ‘no, by 0.1. So okay na rin iyon. But—so as long as—in fact ang forecast ng BSP for Feb is 8.5 – 9.3 so mas malapit na doon sa lower bound eh so that is good news actually.

MARIZ UMALI/GMA-7: Yes. But in terms of impact to the ordinary Filipinos, how big of an impact is this? Will the Filipinos or the ordinary Filipinos really feel the effect of this .1% decrease?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Our economy is sound kahit medyo mataas ang inflation ‘no, it remains to be sound. In fact it grew by 7.6 last year, right. So hindi masyadong naaapektuhan ang consumption for example ‘no. In fact mag-reserve ka ngayon sa mga restaurants, hindi ka kaagad nakakapasok, nakapila ka eh ‘di ba? Ang haba noong pila bago ka makapasok – sa mga gustong kumain, ‘di ba.

So mataas iyong inflation relative to what we had for the last ten years but okay pa rin iyong ekonomiya natin. We don’t expect the economy to slow down. Mag-i-slow down lang siya between six to seven percent – iyon ang forecast namin this year but it will recover to around 6.5 to 8 percent in the following years.

MARIZ UMALI/GMA-7: Sir, just two more points. You mentioned a while ago na you were already able to identify the source for the extension of the Targeted Cash Transfer (TCT) Program. May we know where exactly we’ll be getting this? And how soon are we going to start this extension? You mentioned two months.

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: I think it will be released in a few weeks, I cannot give a specific date kasi sa DBM iyon ‘no. But we already have identified the funding source and who are the recipients. Ito ‘yung old recipients, we will not come up with the new list.

MARIZ UMALI/GMA-7: So, there will be no revision?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Continuation…

MARIZ UMALI/GMA-7: Kasi baka may iba na mas—kumita na sila. They were able to really—

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Hindi naman. Mas mahirap pa iyon kung babaguhin mo pa iyong list eh, one thousand pesos lang naman ‘to eh.

MARIZ UMALI/GMA-7: So, the funding source will be coming from DBM? They will be the ones to identify na?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: They will release naman. The funding source will come from, siyempre iyong tax collection namin, sa Finance manggagaling iyon. Okay.

MARIZ UMALI/GMA-7: Sir, sorry, one last. Regarding the legislative priorities for the agricultural sector which you mentioned a while ago, will this be in line with the amendments for—the proposed amendments for the Constitution? Kasi doon po sa bahaging iyon, it was mentioned that it will be focusing on the economic aspect. Will this be in line with those amendments, sir?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: No, that’s separate, separate issue. For example, ang issue doon siguro is for example the opening up of media ‘di ba… media is closed eh ‘di ba; opening up of education, so puwede nang pumasok dito iyong mga other universities abroad, ganoon. Maybe ri-review-hin natin iyong ownership of land… I don’t know kung ano iyon but this different from the constitutional amendment. Okay, thank you.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Next, we have a question from Alvin Baltazar of PBS.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Secretary, magandang umaga po.

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Good morning, Alvin.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Secretary, nabanggit ninyo kanina doon sa energy conservation plan. Mayroon ba tayong estimate kung magkano iyong magsi-save ng government sakaling ipatupad na ito? At, magkano po ba iyong spending ng government as far as electricity consumption is concerned?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: I cannot answer you that ‘no, but I’m sure it’s going to be substantial ‘no. Kasi we did this before eh ‘di ba during the energy crisis, nagtataka nga ako bakit we did not do this sooner ‘di ba, sana tinutukan natin kaagad ito. Kasi we cannot influence supply, ang presyo ng supply, but we can do something on the demand side ‘no. But I will get back to you as soon as we get the estimate, okay.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Allan Francisco, PTV-4.

ALLAN FRANCISO/PTV-4: Hi, Sec. Hi, ma’am. Speaking of the energy consumption, the proposal to adjust the working hours from 7 A.M. to 4 P.M., would it be only for government agencies or even for private eventually, sir?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Well, we cannot mandate the office hours for the private but mostly government agencies ‘no. Baka sumunod na rin iyong mga private sector ‘no; at saka ito, parang mas maganda nga iyong mas maaga iyong pasok mo ‘di ba, hindi ma-traffic ‘di ba. So naka-off ka doon sa traffic, you go early and then you go back earlier also. And then, siguro maganda na rin nga iyong mayroon kang isang day naka-set aside for work-from-home ‘di ba?

ALLAN FRANCISO/PTV-4: Thank you, sir.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. Tuesday Niu of DZBB.

TUESDAY NIU/DZBB: Good morning, Secretary and Ms. Daphne. Secretary, nabanggit ninyo kanina mayroon tayong Targeted Cash Transfer (TCT) Program, hiwalay pa po iyong fuel vouchers para sa sectors ng transportation, fisherfolk and iyong mga farmers natin. Pero may sinasabi po si Secretary Jaime Bautista na hindi agad maibibigay itong fuel vouchers dahil may kondisyon na kailangang tumaas muna nang mataas ang presyo ng langis bago maibigay ito. Ano po iyong pinakamataas na halaga na kailangang marating noong presyo ng langis sa world market bago natin maipamahagi itong fuel vouchers?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: If I remember right, ang kondisyon doon is dapat iyong presyo ng Dubai crude oil in the world market is 80 dollars, US Dollars per barrel for three consecutive months, okay – hindi iyong paganun-ganun lang ‘di ba, dapat continuous – iyon ang kondisyon noong batas na iyon.

TUESDAY NIU/DZBB: So, until na ma-reach niya iyon for three months, hindi pa talaga maibibigay?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Hindi pa talaga. Hindi pa justifiable na magbigay kasi nasa batas iyon eh ‘di ba. Pero lahat—its peak, umabot iyan ng ano eh, if I remember right, umabot ang presyo ng crude oil at 110 dollars per barrel last year. Pero ngayon kasi bumababa na rin iyong presyo ng gasolina in the world market especially since nag-announce ang China na they are only targeting 5.5% growth ‘no. I think disappointed, in fact many industries – oil, bumaba iyong oil; metals bumaba ganoon. So let’s see. Mas mabuti na bumaba naman iyong oil kaysa sa magbigay ng subsidy, hindi ba? So it benefits everybody.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: Okay. No further questions? We still have one. Okay, go ahead Alvin.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Pahabol na lang Ma’am Daphne. Doon sa 7 to 4 na pasok, iyong office hours sir, does that mean na hindi na allowed iyong overtime, mag-extend beyond 4 o’clock?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Hindi. Allowed pa rin pero ang reckoning ng overtime after 4 ‘di ba? Kasi if you have to work until 10 o’clock in the evening, overtime iyon ‘di ba.

ALVIN BALTAZAR/RADYO PILIPINAS: Pero patay na aircon, sir?

DOF SEC. DIOKNO: Hindi ko lang alam kung papatayin na iyong aircon o hindi [laughs], at saka wala naman kayong mga regular office hours ‘di ba? Okay, thank you.

MS. OSEÑA-PAEZ: I think we have enough topics to write about and to discuss in the next few days. Thank you so much, Secretary Diokno, thank you.

And that ends our press briefing today. Thank you.

 

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News and Information Bureau – Transcription Section