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MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — The Philippine government will provide P500 for 2 months to some 9.3 million households to help them cope with quickening inflation, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Tuesday.

Diokno said government allotted P9.3 billion for the targeted cash transfer program.

"Napakaimportante din na since mataas ang inflation, ipagpatuloy natin ang mga ayuda na binibigay natin sa mga kailangan," the finance chief said.

The funding source has already been identified and this will be released "in a few days or weeks," he said.

The list of the 9.3 million beneficiaries, he said, will come from the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

P26.6 BILLION IN SUBSIDIES

Government will also shell out P26.6 billion as continued provision of subsidies for the vulnerable sector. This includes expanding the "Kadiwa" program, fuel discounts, and fuel subsidy to the transport sector.

Government will provide P13.3 billion for fertilizer discounts, then the P9.3 billion for the targeted cash transfer extension for poor households.

This was followed by some P3 billion fuel subsidy for the transport sector and a P1 billion fuel discount to farmers and fisherfolk.

Video from RTVM

Aside from subsidies, the administration is also pushing to make monetary and fiscal policies more responsive to curb inflation, the Finance chief said.

“In order to tackle inflation, talagang whole of government approach,” he said.

“So ginagawa ng monetary policy 'yung dapat niyang gawin, so ang pressure ngayon is on the fiscal side. Kailangan natin tukuyin 'yung mga presyo ng commodities,” he said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has created a committee that would closely monitor market prices and the importation of resources, he said.

The administration is also counting on the legislative branch to pass several measures to improve the productivity of agricultural players. Among these are as follows:

• New Agrarian Emancipation Act
• National Land Use Act
• Livestock Development and Competitiveness Bill
• Amendments to the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation Charter

“These will allow farmers to focus now on their efforts to increase production,” he said. “We have to focus on agricultural production and productivity,” he said.

Inflation slowed down in February to 8.6 percent from 8.7 percent in January, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

• Inflation slightly eases to 8.6 percent in February: PSA

The PSA attributed this to the recent slower movement of transport-related prices including gasoline, diesel and motorcycles.

— With a report from Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News