LET’S be objective and ditch rarefied analyses and ideological biases. At the end of the day, what matters for citizens is whether the state and its leader deliver what’s most important to them — their daily needs for food and other necessities of modern life, and, of course, their prices.
This is the situation even in the most advanced nations on Earth: Americans junked the Democrats’ blah-blahs about saving democracy, and voted for the foul-mouthed Donald Trump, who claimed the past administration “wrecked” the economy, according to exit polls.
Despite the official reports of inflation in September 2024 that the US had a three-year low of 2.4 percent (ours is 1.9 percent), 82 percent of voters felt, according to the Pew Research Center, that the Democrat administration had not done enough to bring down the cost of goods.
In our case, the June 2024 poll of PulseAsia reported that a huge 72 percent of respondents viewed high prices as their most pressing concern.
I used an artificial intelligence app to research for me the average prices of a set of common commodities and services in the first two years of the Duterte and the Marcos Jr. administrations. Among the capabilities of AI is that it can research the internet and read articles there in milliseconds.
What would probably take months to read everything on a particular topic, it takes seconds for AI to read and summarize for the user. For this particular topic I assigned, AI scoured official government data as well as individual reports by news agencies for the first two-year periods under the two administrations.
The rate of increase of the average prices of a set of commodities in the two periods I asked AI to research on rose from a low of 22 percent to a high of 55 percent, for an average of 44 percent.
There wasn’t a single commodity or service that didn’t increase its prices. Following is the AI report:
Here is a comparative table of average prices for various commodities and services in the Philippines during two periods: July 2016 to October 2018 and July 2022 to October 2024. The table also includes the calculated rate of increase for each item.
Notes:
- Local Coffee (per kg): The average price increased from ₱100 during 2016-2018 to ₱150 in 2022-2024, reflecting a 50% increase. This rise is attributed to factors such as increased production costs and inflation.
- Mang Andok’s Chicken: The price for a whole roasted chicken rose from ₱250 to ₱350, a 40% increase, influenced by higher costs of ingredients and operations.
- Mobile Phone Subscription (monthly): Average monthly subscription fees increased from ₱600 to ₱800, a 33% rise, due to enhanced services and infrastructure investments by telecom companies.
- Gasoline and Diesel Prices: Fluctuations are influenced by global oil prices and local taxes.
- LPG and Cooking Oil: Prices are affected by international market trends and domestic supply.
- Vegetables and Meat: Prices vary based on seasonality, supply chain factors, and regional differences.
- Rice: As a staple, rice prices are subject to government policies and importation rates.
- Fast Food Items: Prices are based on standard menu items and may vary by location.
- Transportation Fares: Regulated by government agencies; increases often reflect fuel price hikes.
- Meralco Monthly Bill: Average household consumption; actual bills depend on usage and prevailing rates.
For the most accurate and up-to-date information, it’s advisable to consult official sources such as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and relevant industry reports.
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