RP told to fight inflation

RP told to fight inflation

MANILA (AFP): Michel Camdessus, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the Philippines yesterday to take bold steps to curb inflation which he warned threatened long-term economic growth.

"If the impressive economic gains achieved thus far are not to prove transitory, it is important that the Philippines move quickly to the next phase of its economic transformation," he told a news conference.

The Philippine economy grew by 5.07 percent in the first half, but the inflation rate surged to 9.9 percent in August before tapering down to 8.6 percent last month.

Manila earlier this year obtained a US$684 million IMF loan whose release is conditional on its meeting key targets in an economic program agreed at by the lender and the borrower.

"Inflation is a cancer that if not tackled at an early stage, could risk undermining what has already been achieved, and if left unchecked could derail the whole program," Camdessus warned.

"The slaying of this dragon we call inflation is an absolute necessity."