NEDA denies inflation data ‘manipulation’

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) denied that it manipulated the inflation figure for August, noting revisions are normal occurrences in official government data. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto M. Pernia said that the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) initially miscalculated the preliminary figure for August inflation, which officially clocked in at 6.4 percent. “It’s normal that PSA’s first data releases are preliminary, i.e., subject to revisions. This applies to national income accounts,” Pernia said in a mobile phone message sent to reporters over the weekend. Pernia cited that PSA had also revised several times its data on gross domestic product (GDP), producer price index, monthly integrated survey of selected industries, labor force survey, among others. “Recall that the 2016 GDP growth was first reported at 6.8 percent, later revised much later to 6.9 percent; similarly, 2018 first-quarter GDP growth was 6.6 percent, later changed to 6.4 percent,” the NEDA chief said. For the August inflation figure, Pernia recounted that “the revision was also an appropriate and necessary corrigendum [Latin for ‘to be corrected’] as the error was detected early,” Pernia said. “There was no intention of hiding it. We just thought it prudent and not necessary to announce it as it might only lead to confusion among the public, especially those unfamiliar with standard procedures. I hope this clarifies,” he added. (CSL)