STATEMENT OF DEPUTY DIRECTOR-GENERAL EMMANUEL F. ESGUERRA ON THE RELEASE OF AUGUST 2012 INFLATION DATA
MANILA—The following is the statement of Dr. Emmanuel F. Esguerra, NEDA Deputy Director-General for Planning, on today’s release of the August 2012 inflation data by the National Statistics Office (NSO):
“Owing to the southwest monsoon (“habagat”) that occurred last month, faster price adjustments were observed on food items, such as fish, vegetables and fruits.
“Higher commodity prices under the Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels group were also observed. This was traced mainly to the increase in the generation charge of Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) by 25.5 percent to PhP6.7 per kilowatt hour during the period, following the Malampaya pipeline shutdown that prompted MERALCO to acquire its power requirements from more expensive sources.
“From declines in the previous months, domestic petroleum prices slightly increased in August 2012. Since the start of the year, the DOE reported net increases of PhP3.98 per liter for gasoline and PhP1.97 per liter for diesel. On the other hand, price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) posted a fourth-month decline in August, equivalent to a deflation of -3.3 percent from -12.5 percent in the July 2012.
“The January-to-August 2012 headline inflation rate of 3.2 percent is still within the government’s target range of 3.0% to 5.0%, as set in the Philippine Development Plan for 2011-2016. Inflation remains manageable but government will remain vigilant against any undesirable trends.”
Esguerra heads the NEDA’s National Development Office (NDO) for Planning and supervises four NEDA sector staffs, namely the National Planning and Policy Staff; Trade, Industry and Utilities Staff; Agriculture Staff; and Social Development Staff.
The NDO provides technical staff support to the NEDA Board in coordinating the formulation of national and sectoral policies, plans and programs. It also monitors macroeconomic and sectoral performance, and conducts economic and development studies on macrolevel plans and policies.
M.R. No. 2012-059
05 September 2012
