Inflation Woes: Media Need to Ask More Questions

 

TYPHOON OMPONG (Mangkhut) ravaged provinces of the northern and central Luzon last September 15. The extensive damage to agriculture and fisheries is likely to raise even more the already high prices of food.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported that the losses in rice, corn, and high-value crops, as well as fisheries and livestock, had reached PHP26.7 billion as of September 25, while 558,441 metric tons of rice were lost at a cost of PHP11.45 billion. (“Ompong damage to agriculture soars to P17 billion”)

But the Duterte administration has downplayed the impact of Ompong on the inflation rate.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said that their effect on inflation will only be temporary because the government will implement measures to prevent further increases in the prices of basic commodities. (“Economic managers downplay inflationary effects of Ompong”)

“Based on the preliminary reports, the impact (of Ompong) is basically isolated and confined to certain areas, so we don’t see a generalized effect on the supply, logistics, and production,” Guinigundo said.

CMFR monitored the reports on the issue by the leading broadsheets (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, The Philippine Star, BusinessWorld and BusinessMirror); the primetime news telecasts  (ABS-CBN 2’ TV Patrol, GMA-7’s 24 Oras, TV5’s Aksyon, CNN Philippines’ News Night and ANC’s Business Nightly) and their online editions from September 14 to September 25.

These news organizations reported what government sources were saying about the possible effects of Ompong’s devastation. But their reports did not provide much information on what to expect as far as food prices are concerned.  They reported Guinigundo’s statements, for example, without reference to the position of the government’s economic managers who have been minimizing the severity of the inflation rate, and scrambling to find short-term solutions as inflation continues to rise.

More than Rice

While media had reported that the country’s “rice granary,” Nueva Ecija, is the province most affected by Ompong, with losses in its rice production at PHP2.84 billion, followed by Cagayan with PHP2.77 billion, it belongs to the Central Luzon region that produces three-fourths of the country’s total rice production, which will definitely affect the country’s already unstable rice supply. But reports that quoted Guinigundo’s statements failed to mention this fact.

The government’s solution is to import rice to increase supplies while these provinces recover. An additional 15 million sacks of rice are scheduled to arrive in one and a half months while imports for the fourth quarter are already in process, and five million metric tons will also be imported next year.

But the staple is not the only food commodity affected by the typhoon. The fishing sector also lost PHP2 million while the livestock and poultry industry lost PHP45 million. The Cordillera region, one of the country’s main sources of vegetables, has lost  PHP6.1 billion in agricultural products. (“Agricultural damage by Typhoon Ompong highest since Yolanda”)

Damage to farmlands and roads made impassable by the typhoon caused vegetable prices to spike dramatically.  As of September 18, vegetable prices at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post were at PHP200 to PHP270 for a kilo of carrots, PHP90 to PHP105 per head of cabbage, and PHP70 to PHP100 per kilo of sayote. (“Vegetable prices skyrocket after ‘Ompong’”).

Media did report these facts, in the process informing the public about the extent of the problem. But reports on the statements of Guinigundo and other officials did not question nor attempt to verify the accuracy of what was being said. Media seem to ignore the need to ask on the public’s behalf what government is going to do to seriously address the growing issue of food that has become too expensive for most people to buy.

Consumer Fears and Inflation

Food prices have rapidly risen, contributing 1.6% to the 6.4% August inflation rate according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). Rice prices increased by 2.6%, meat by 1.3%, fish by 2.2%, and vegetables by 7.2%.

Even before Ompong hit, consumers were already worried if the typhoon would make food even more expensive. In a report that gave the issue a human face, ANC’s Business Nightly reported on September 14 the case of a household helper who spends PHP100 a day on rice alone to feed her family of seven. She said she used to spend only PHP42 last year, and was worried that rice prices would further increase because of Ompong. (“WIll Typhoon Ompong further raise prices of consumer goods?”)

The media reported that the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) wants a state of calamity declared in the provinces affected so a price freeze and a strict price watch can be implemented to ease public fears. But the press should be asking the government whether these measures will work.

In reporting government claims without probing questions, the media plays the government’s game of pretending it has solutions.

Perhaps it is time for media to report what many experts are saying: that the country is facing hard times ahead, that poor Filipinos will suffer even more hunger, and that the government is unable to do anything about it.