‘Lowering prices of essential goods a top priority’

MANILA, Philippines — Bringing down prices of essential goods remains the top priority of the Marcos administration, House Speaker Martin Romualdez said yesterday.

“When prices of essential goods are high, each Filipino (is) directly affected. As public servant, it is our obligation to ensure that enough and affordable food goes on the table of each Filipino,” he said in a statement, reacting to a Moody’s Analytics report identifying inflation as still the foremost risk to the Philippine economy.

According to Romualdez, latest economic data indicate that while inflation eased to 2.9 percent in January 2025, food inflation rose to four percent, reflecting the country’s supply chain vulnerabilities.

As per Moody’s Analytics, external factors such as global trade frictions and domestic challenges – including typhoon damage to agricultural production – keep inflation risks elevated.

In response, Romualdez underscored the need for a dual approach: maintaining sound monetary policy while taking decisive action to bolster domestic production.

“Addressing inflation is not only the job of the Central Bank. This should be supported with intelligent supervision of food supply and other basic commodities,” he said.

“Our objective is to ensure that prices will not go down and go up without direction. We need to strengthen our food supply and make it predictable,” he added.

One of the government’s immediate responses to food price volatility is the Department of Agriculture (DA)’s finalization of a 55,000 metric ton minimum access volume (MAV) quota for pork imports.

This measure aims to stabilize pork prices and ensure sufficient supply. Under this quota, 30,000 metric tons are allocated to meat processors, 10,000 metric tons to traders and 15,000 metric tons to the DA for price stabilization. Tariffs remain at 15 percent within the quota and 25 percent beyond it.

However, Romualdez stressed that while importation can address short-term shortages, long-term food security depends on boosting domestic agricultural production.

“We need to invest in modernization of our agriculture, from strengthening biosecurity measures in hog-raising to improving the supply of food of our livestock farmers. We will remain dependent on importation if we will not fix the root cause of the problem,” he said.

Romualdez noted that efforts to strengthen local production are already underway.

In La Union and Pangasinan, Romualdez said 32 farmers’ cooperatives and local government units recently received 35 agricultural machines worth P71.6 million under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund Mechanization Program.

With the program’s second phase set to receive an increased P9-billion annual budget, Romualdez expressed confidence that improved mechanization will translate to higher yields and lower food costs.

“Distribution of machines is not enough. We need to ensure that our farmers have enough knowledge and support so that they can maximize the proper use of technology. If we were able to strengthen our agriculture, we will reduce the independence on imported food and we will have a more stronger economy,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez stressed that market data also reflect mixed price movements in staple goods.

The average retail price of rice slightly declined to P54.18 per kilo in early February, with regular-milled rice experiencing a decrease while special rice seeing a marginal increase.

Meanwhile, meat prices – including fresh pork shoulder – rose compared to the previous month.

Romualdez pointed out that fluctuating prices in essential goods highlight the urgency of reinforcing local supply chains and developing long-term market stabilization programs.

“We need to change our way of addressing the prices of goods, not only reactive to the increases in pricess. The solution is strengthened production, efficient chain of supply and fair competiton in the market. We need to ensure that each Filipino has access to quality and affordable food,” he said.