THE President has approved the creation of a new interagency committee (IAC) on Inflation and Market Outlook (IMO) to be cochaired by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Department of Finance (DOF).
The Department of Budget and Management will be the vice chairperson of the IAC. The committee will also be composed of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Energy, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of the Interior and Local Government.
The Philippine Statistics Authority, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and Philippine Competition Commission will serve as the Committee’s resource institutions.
“This newly formed committee shall serve as an advisory body to the President and the Cabinet on measures to mitigate inflation and ensure food and energy security while balancing the interests of local food producers, consumers, and the overall economy,” the Neda said in a statement on Tuesday.
DOF Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said as a high-level IAC on IMO, the committee will help craft measures to mitigate inflation and ensure food and energy security.
“We will carefully balance the interests of producers, consumers, and the economy. This will allow us to have greater flexibility and more timely recommendations on the timing and amount of imports,” Diokno said.
The advisory body, Neda said, will lead the close monitoring of inflation (particularly on food and energy and their main drivers and causes), facilitate regular and efficient data-sharing among concerned agencies.
It will help assess the supply-demand situation for energy and essential food commodities, provide forward estimates given various scenarios, and provide timely recommendations to the President and relevant agencies on measures to curb possible price spikes and promote food and energy security.
Further, the committee shall continuously monitor global and regional developments and issues that may affect commodity prices and submit a quarterly report to the President on the food and energy supply-demand situation and outlook for the country.
The President also approved the creation of the Economic Development Group which Neda and DOF will also cochair. The group will assist the Executive Department in harmonizing, coordinating, complementing, and synergizing the efforts that will ensure the country’s rapid, inclusive, and sustained growth.
Among its members are the heads of the Presidential Management Staff, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Agriculture, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Transportation, Department of Information and Communications Technology, and Department of Energy.
The list of members will also include the Department of Science and Technology, Department of Tourism, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and Department of Labor and Employment.
Neda said the Philippine government continues to implement monetary and non-monetary measures to ease price pressures. With the creation of the Interagency Committee on Inflation and Market Outlook and the Economic Development Group.
“In addition, the Group may also request the participation of the Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, as well as of other officials of relevant government agencies, as is deemed necessary,” Neda said.
“The Marcos Administration’s Economic Team is committed to directly addressing the root causes of high food prices to ensure food security, protect the purchasing power of Filipinos—especially that of the poor and vulnerable sectors—in the short term and is committed to ensure that our country remains on track to meet our poverty reduction targets for the medium term,” it also said.
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