MANILA - The PHP5.268 trillion national budget for 2023 contains allocations that will help protect the Philippine economy from the "negative" impact of internal and external shocks, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Wednesday. The DBM issued the statement a day after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the country's headline inflation rate in January climbed to 8.7 percent from 8.1 percent in December 2022. The budget department said this year's national budget is composed of allocations intended for the implementation of the government's social protection, economic development, and disaster preparedness programs. "In addition to allocations meant for disaster-related and risk resiliency programs, the budget includes layers of social protection and economic emergency expenditure items that relatively shield the economy and its people from the negative effects of any shocks," it said. "In fact, social protecti
File photo MANILA - President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday expressed optimism that the drop in the prices of fuel and imported agricultural products would help tame inflation. This, after the country's headline inflation rate in January 2023 ticked up to 8.7 percent from 8.1 percent in December 2022, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report. While Marcos viewed the latest development as "unfortunate," he remained bullish that the prices of commodities would go down, considering the sliding prices of petroleum products and his administration's efforts to boost the supply of agricultural products. "As of now, with fuel prices going down and the prices of [agricultural] products with the importation slowly also going down, I think that we will see the effects on the inflation rate further down the road. And I sincerely believe that this is going to be as high as it's going to get," he said. Marcos, however, acknowledged that the m
File photo MANILA - President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday expressed optimism that the drop in the prices of fuel and imported agricultural products would help tame inflation. This, after the country's headline inflation rate in January 2023 ticked up to 8.7 percent from 8.1 percent in December 2022, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report. While Marcos viewed the latest development as "unfortunate," he remained bullish that the prices of commodities would go down, considering the sliding prices of petroleum products and his administration's efforts to boost the supply of agricultural products. "As of now, with fuel prices going down and the prices of [agricultural] products with the importation slowly also going down, I think that we will see the effects on the inflation rate further down the road. And I sincerely believe that this is going to be as high as it's going to get," he said. Marcos, however, acknowledged that the m