But his own finance chief had earlier said the Philippines was “sort of insulated” from the impact of the US-China trade war. Economic managers have blamed everything except the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion, which slapped a hefty excise tax on fuel, raising transport and electricity costs. The fuel tax under TRAIN was compounded by rising world crude prices and the weakening peso. The government has been warned about possible business shutdowns and consequent job losses due to TRABAHO, but so far, the administration is standing firm not just on TRAIN 2 but also on not touching a single provision of the first phase of TRAIN. Filipino consumers are being run over by the inflation train.

Source: Philippine Star September 09, 2018 15:31 UTC