MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines’ inflation rate rose to 5.4% in May, as skyrocketing global oil prices continued to seep through other goods.

The latest figure reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Tuesday, June 7, is higher than the 4.9% recorded last April.

It is also the highest recorded inflation since December 2018.

Year-to-date, average inflation stands at 4.1%.

The government’s economic team has estimated that average inflation for the entire 2022 would be in the 3.7%-4.7% range, an upward revision from their previous forecast.

Transport inflation remained elevated in May, as gasoline and diesel inflation shot up to 47.2% and 86.2%, respectively.

Inflation in Metro Manila was lower than the national average at 4.7%, while inflation outside the capital region was at 5.5%.

By region, the Cordillera Administrative Region saw the highest inflation rate, with 6.9%.

CAR posts highest inflation rate at 6.9% in May pic.twitter.com/zgmrahdPto

— Ralf Rivas (@RalfRivas) June 7, 2022

Economists have already proposed various measures, including price triggers for oil and automatically suspending a portion of taxes to ease rising prices.

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The government, so far, has implemented targeted fuel subsidies, as well as allowed more meat and cereal imports.

“These temporary measures are expected to increase our food supply and ease higher electricity costs in the short term,” said Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Chua. – Rappler.com