neoliberal policies

IBON: Wage hike needed as Filipino families’ incomes erode January-July due to inflation

August 31, 2018

A substantial increase in the minimum wage is necessary and doable as the country’s poorest households are losing income due to escalating inflation, said research group IBON, contrary to the recent claims of an employers’ group. IBON estimates that income losses of the poorest 60 million Filipinos ranged from Php1,276 to as much as Php3,489 […]

PH Economy Duterteriorating

August 29, 2018

IBON FEATURES – Stay the course, the country’s economic managers always insist. They will be the last to admit bad economic news because eternal sunshine is part of their job. Their recent spontaneous reactions against federalism are however more revealing. They are losing control of the economy as it is and they know the ill-conceived […]

​Why rice tariffication does not guarantee lower rice prices

August 25, 2018

Accelerating inflation is becoming worrisome for tens of millions of low-income Filipino families. Since the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) kicked off early this year, the prices of goods and services have climbed incessantly. Rice inflation itself accelerated from just 1.5% in the beginning of 2018 to a 5% high in July. Inflation […]

Poor Filipino families worst hit by rising July 2018 inflation

August 8, 2018

Research group IBON said that faster inflation largely due to rising food prices hits poor households the worst. The group also said that the Duterte administration’s proposal to increase food imports is short-sighted, and that the best defense against rising food prices and high inflation is to increase domestic food supply through long-term solutions that […]

Poorest 60M Filipinos suffer income loss due to first 6 months inflation in 2018

August 7, 2018

Lowest-income households lost as much as Php2,700 since start of 2018 Accelerating inflation since the start of the year has eroded the incomes of the country’s poorest families. Research group IBON estimates that the poorest 60 million Filipinos have suffered income losses of anywhere from Php993 to as much as Php2,715 because of worsening inflation […]

Group refutes government’s defense of TRAIN

July 23, 2018

In a consumer forum held in anticipation of the third State of the Nation Address, research group IBON debunked the Duterte administration’s avid defense of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. The group said that contrary to government’s pronouncements, the tax program is not beneficial to the poor majority of Filipinos and […]

TRAIN-driven rising cost of living makes wage hike urgent

July 9, 2018

Research group IBON said that tax-driven inflation is making the meager wages of poor Filipinos fall even further behind the rising cost of living. The group said this makes it even more urgent for the government to immediately raise wages even as it revisits the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law behind the […]

Govt’s TRAIN to blame for highest inflation in nearly 10 years — IBON

July 5, 2018

Research group IBON said that the government’s insistence on higher taxes especially on the poor is among the factors driving inflation rates to their highest in nearly a decade. The group said that runaway inflation is due to the peso depreciation and rising global oil prices combined with the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion […]

WPN presses MWSS: Show us the numbers

June 29, 2018

The Water for the People Network (WPN) is dismayed that the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System – Regulatory Office (MWSS-RO) would not readily reveal the numbers involving water companies’ petitions for tariff increases in public consultations that the MWSS-RO itself convened this week. The group said that by doing so, the government agency effectively hindered […]