Seventy-five percent are dissatisfied with the government’s efforts to manage the rising prices of basic commodities and reduce poverty, a survey by OCTA Research group which was done late last year but released on Sunday.

In his post on X, OCTA Research Fellow Guido David said 75 percent of Filipinos said they were dissatisfied with the Marcos administration’s efforts to manage inflation while 46 percent said they were not satisfied with the government’s anti-poverty efforts, a survey on Dec. 10-14 said.

The inflation rate in December was 3.9 percent, down from 4.1 percent in October, central bank data showed. It was second straight month inflation went down. Since then, inflation has gone down to 2.8 percent in January.

Those who were satisfied with the government’s way of managing inflation were only six percent and those content with the government’s efforts to reduce poverty were 14 percent.

The survey also showed that the government received the highest satisfaction rate in terms of building infrastructure at 81 percent, followed by protecting the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) at 77 percent, proper and effective response to disasters at 77 percent.

In a radio interview on Sunday, David said that theproblem with inflation could not entirely be blamed on the government, since other countries were facing the same issue.

“It’s true that the prices of commodities are rising and we can say that this is not under the direct control of the government because it is an international concern. Even in other countries, the prices of the commodities are high... So our life isn’t easy.” David said.

David said aid given by government to indigent families is ''a short-term solution.''

Among the long-term solutions he suggested the government should focus on were education, business incentives, and farming incentives.

“I am happy to see that the government’s performance rating in education was high. That is one of the long-term solutions because if our countrymen are educated, they can get good jobs. But that’s just one of them, it’s a systemic issue,” he said.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the government is ramping up its efforts to manage price increases of basic commodities and attract more foreign investments.

"The Marcos Administration is accelerating its efforts to manage price increases of basic commodities such as rice in light of the El Nino phenomenon we are experiencing and the continuing upward price pressure from the global rice market," Balisacan said in a statement released Sunday. Jaspearl Tan/DMS