AMID the fuss about the continuing acceleration of the country's inflation rate, President Rodrigo Duterte said there has been no administration that did not experience an elevated inflation.
The inflation rate hit 6.4 percent in August this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported. This was the fastest in the past nine years, after the 6.6-percent inflation logged in March 2009 during the Arroyo administration.
"Sabi ko, wala namang administrasyon na dumaan na walang inflation, lahat dumaan. Itong sa akin, as you know believe it or not, it started sa America (I am saying that there was never an administration that did not go through inflation. But during my term, believe it or not, it started in America)," Duterte said, adding that the inflation was caused when America raised the interest rates, during a press conference right after his arrival in Davao City from Israel Saturday.
"When America raised the interest, eh di lahat yan nagtaasan (When America raised interest rates, all of it [prices of goods] also increased)," Duterte said.
He said these issues on rice shortage and inflation are being used against him by his critics.
"They are feeding on that, yung rice (shortage) tapos itong inflation. Yun yung mga ginagamit nila in preparation for October," he said.