Inflation worries NegOcc business, labor groups

BACOLOD CITY – Western Visayas posted a 7.4 percent inflation rate in August, one point higher than the national average of 6.4 percent, and the fourth highest rate among all the regions in the country.

The high inflation rate in the region has both business and labor leaders in Negros Occidental worried.

They see inflation getting worse in the coming months, given its continuous uptrend since the start of the year.

Figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the August inflation rate is higher than July’s 6.2 percent, the highest so far this year.

Compared to other regions, Western Visayas has the fourth highest rate, next to SOCCSKSARGEN at 7.9, ARMM at 8.1, and Bicol at 9.0.

With inflation bulging, the purchasing power of peso in the region dropped to 0.83 percent and the consumer price index rose to 120.2.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages prices were at 10.7 percent, 2.8 percent higher than July’s 7.9.

Prices for other commodity groups either decreased or remained the same compared to the previous month.

Prices of selected food items also rose, with some even doubling. Bread and cereals were at 9.5 percent, and rice at 11 percent.

The prices of these items almost doubled from last year’s.

Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive Officer Frank Carbon, is concerned that rising inflation could lead to a higher crime rate.

Carbon also said the basket of food consumed will take almost 60 to 70 percent of the total income of a family.

Businesses operating at night could be affected if these projections are correct, he said. It could lower their income by 70 to 80 percent.

“This is a worrisome situation, given that people have gut issues that involve their daily necessities. It is a challenge that needs to be addressed right away,” Carbon said.

General Alliance of Workers Association Secretary General Wennie Sancho said labor groups fear an economic crisis as the workers’ purchasing power erodes.

“If employers could no longer cope up with the inflation, this would surely lead to unemployment of some workers,” Sancho said.

Labor groups are reluctant to push for a wage increase, since inflation affects employers as well, he said.

Instead of filing for a pay hike, Sancho said his group plans to ask for a monthly allowance for minimum wage earners of about P320 as subsidy to help them cope with inflation.

Carbon and Sancho agreed that the Negros Occidental provincial government, together with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture, National Food Authority, and Philippine National Police, and other stakeholders must convene a local price monitoring council to assess the situation.

If the government agencies fail to act, the workers might stage a rally “to remind them of their duties”, Carbon said.

DTI-Negros Occidental head Lea Gonzales said that despite the rising inflation rate, the increase in the prices of prime commodities that they have been monitoring was tolerable.