Russian invasion, typhoons drive inflation up to 7.7 percent in October
2022.11.04
Manila

Inflation in the Philippines rose to 7.7 percent in October, the highest monthly rate in nearly 14 years, with ripple effects from the war in Ukraine, COVID lockdowns in China and typhoons driving up prices for food and commodities, the government reported Friday.
The year-on-year increase, the largest since December 2008, was largely on the back of price increases in key commodity groups led by food and non-alcoholic beverages, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) said in a statement.
“The surge in prices resulted from external price pressures, like the Russia-Ukraine war and lockdowns imposed in parts of China, which disrupted global supply chains,” it said, adding that this was exacerbated by “lingering aftermath of recent typhoons.”
The October figure was “significantly higher” than the 6.9 percent logged in the previous month, although it was within range of the central bank’s projections of between 7.1 percent and 7.9 percent, it said.
Social-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that given the damage caused by recent typhoons, immediate assistance needed to be extended to affected communities and sectors.
He said cash assistance as well as fuel subsidies to affected communities would continue to help “alleviate the effects of the sustained increase in commodity prices as a result of global headwinds as well as the recent typhoons which damaged our domestic production and disrupted food supply.”
The most recent weather disturbance to hit the Philippines, Typhoon Nalgae, dumped heavy rain across a large swathe of the country in late October, impacting about 3.9 million people including many who remain stuck in evacuation centers.

Hardest hit was the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), which accounted for 63 of the 150 fatalities linked to the storm. Nationally, the government estimated combined damage to infrastructure and agriculture at 5.27 billion pesos ($90.2 million).
Edoardo Baluma, 46, a vegetable farmer in the town of Pigcawayan in North Cotabato province, told BenarNews that he was supposed to harvest his eggplant and tomatoes this month, but the typhoon destroyed everything.
“The proceeds of my crops were supposed to buy new seedlings and payment for my fertilizers. I only have a little income from those damaged crops,” he said.
Baluma owns a 7.5-acre farm he inherited from his parents and left his job at an auto dealership to till the land.
“Now, I don’t have the capital to use. The government says they will allow us to borrow money, but where will I get the payment for it?” he said, adding that farm costs, including for fertilizer, are sure to rise.
Continued subsidy
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has directed the continued distribution of emergency subsidies to help those affected by the typhoons. This week he placed BARMM as well as two other regions under a state of calamity for six months, ensuring they get emergency funding.
The funds would help “the most vulnerable sectors in the form of distribution of cash transfers and fuel discounts to help cushion the impact of rising inflation,” his spokeswoman, Cheloy Garafil, told reporters.
“We assure the public that the government continues to monitor inflation and all contributing factors, and will explore all other measures to alleviate its impact on our people,” she said.
Jeoffrey Maitem in Cotabato, Philippines, contributed to this report.