With September inflation at 7.2 percent — up from 6.1 percent in August and 1.7 percent a year earlier — Malacañang has laid out its response. It is a list of things already underway.
According to OneNews.PH (Alexis Romero), Palace Press Officer Claire Castro briefed reporters on October 7 after President Marcos met Executive Secretary Ralph Recto to discuss easing the impact of rising prices. The President's focus, she said, is ensuring sufficient food, fuel and electricity. "We are preparing for this," Castro said, and "We cannot deny the effect of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East."
What the Palace said it is doing
On fuel, Castro said the directive is to ensure the Philippines "will not run out of fuel supply," warning that a disruption would hit businesses and the broader economy. The programs she cited as continuing are:
- Removal of the 12% VAT on the allowable system loss charge in electricity bills.
- Management of pork supply during the holiday season.
- The UPLIFT program for sectors hit by the Middle East war's impact.
- The TUPAD emergency employment program.
- The free rice program.
- Fuel subsidy for public utility vehicle drivers.
- Expansion of Kadiwa, which aims to make affordable goods more accessible.
Per the report, the drivers of the September figure are higher food and energy prices: rice inflation rose on tighter domestic supply and higher transport costs, and fish and vegetable inflation rose due to weather disturbances. Malacañang attributed the spike to the Middle East conflict and recent disasters.
The part that doesn't add up
The briefing, as reported, contained no new measure, no peso amount, no target for bringing inflation down and no date by which anything would change. Every program on the list predates the meeting. The directive to "ensure" supply is an instruction, not a plan; the report does not say which agencies are to do what, or by when.
Castro also said that "even the political noise is affecting our economy." The Palace did not say in the reported remarks which noise it meant or how it is measured against a rise of more than five percentage points in a year. Pulpulitiko has no basis to assess that claim and the report offers no data for it. What the record does show is that the inflation reading was already forecast: economists projected a September print as high as 7.4 percent, as Pulpulitiko reported on October 2, and the BSP's public line at the time was that it "remains vigilant."
El Niño on the way
The report adds that El Niño began in October 2026 and may last until March 2027, and that Marcos told agencies in late September to adopt measures against water shortages and severe drought. A drought would be a further hit to the food supply that is already behind the inflation reading, and the Palace's list contains nothing aimed at it beyond that earlier instruction.
What households can do now
Pulpulitiko cannot verify eligibility or enrollment details for the programs above from the Palace briefing alone. Readers looking for aid such as the PUV fuel subsidy, TUPAD or the free rice program should check with their local government unit, the nearest DOLE or DSWD office, or those agencies' official announcements for current requirements.
Context
Pulpulitiko reported on October 6 that September inflation was 7.2 percent, with the poorest 30 percent of households seeing faster price increases. TUPAD has been in the news for other reasons: the COA flagged "unvalidated disbursements" in the program's payouts across 11 DOLE regions, as Pulpulitiko reported on October 9, even as the House added ₱14.8 billion to it in the 2027 budget.
Sources
- OneNews.PH (Alexis Romero), "Marcos orders agencies to prioritize food, fuel and electricity as inflation soars" — onenews.ph
- Pulpulitiko, "Inflation Lands at 7.2%..."; "Inflation Forecast to Hit Up to 7.4%..."; "COA Flags 'Unvalidated Disbursements' in 11 DOLE Regions' TUPAD Payouts..." — pulpulitiko.com