GENERAL SANTOS CITY (PIA) -- The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) - Sarangani Provincial Statistical Office held a news conference on April 18 to present the inflation rates in General Santos City and Sarangani Province for March 2023.
Reporting the latest data on Gensan and Sarangani inflation, PSA emphasized that their mandate is to collect data and interpret them that could later be of use by leaders as references for planning, policy legislation, and decision making.
According to PSA-Sarangani chief statistical specialist Ismael Ramos, General Santos inflation rate in March decelerated from 6.9% in February to 6.7%, easing down by 0.2%.
Meanwhile, Sarangani inflation for March also slowed by 0.4% from 9.1% in February to 8.7%, said PSA-Sarangani supervising statistical specialist Marifi de Asis.
She, however, noted that the downtrend remains higher than the national and regional levels, which are at 7.6% and 7.3%, respectively.
PSA also admitted, during the open forum, that there are still areas of improvement in terms of data collection as well as in forging partnership with other key government agencies.
It also asked the press to help in the dissemination of data so that the public can have a clear grasp on how inflation affect people's life and the local economy.
Joining PSA-Sarangani were former MSU-Gensan research director Dr. Epimaco Cabanlit Jr. and City Agriculturist Office department head Merlinda Donasco, represented by Joel Mascardo, to explain viable interventions being made by local government units such as General Santos and even private sectors to address inflation and mitigate its effects. (CTA/PIA SarGen)
