By: Doc Ian Mark Q. Nacaya
“N Insights“
When Living Costs Rise, Government Must Do More Than Observe
When the cost of living rises during an economic crisis, ordinary families feel the impact long before economic indicators fully explain it. They feel it in the market, where food becomes more expensive; in transport, where fares eat into daily wages; in school, where education costs continue to rise; and at home, where every peso must be stretched to cover food, medicine, utilities, and other essentials. In times like these, government must do more than observe. It must act in ways that are practical, timely, and deeply felt by the people.
One meaningful measure is to increase tax exemptions for every qualified dependent of a family breadwinner. This approach is more responsive to the real burdens carried by households. It is not only parents who support dependents. Many breadwinners also care for younger siblings, elderly parents, relatives with illness, or other family members who rely on them. Increasing the tax-exempt amount per dependent allows breadwinners to keep more of their income and strengthens their capacity to pay for education, food, transport, health needs, and daily family expenses.
Another urgent intervention is the temporary suspension, for at least three months or as needed, of loan collections from government financial institutions such as GSIS, SSS, Pag-IBIG, and housing-related programs. For many workers, salary deductions continue even when family expenses have already become difficult to manage. A temporary moratorium can provide immediate breathing space. To keep these institutions stable, the national government may subsidize part of their operating costs during the relief period. In this way, help can be extended to borrowers without undermining essential public service institutions.
Government must also intensify price monitoring and act firmly against hoarding, profiteering, and unreasonable overpricing. Consumer protection is not a secondary duty during crisis. It is part of the core responsibility of public service. Markets must be monitored seriously, and authorities must ensure that basic goods remain within reach of ordinary families.
Support for agriculture is equally important. Farmers should be provided with farm-to-market transport assistance and stronger logistics support so that their produce can move more efficiently and at lower cost. When vegetables, rice, fruits, fish, and other goods are transported faster and more affordably from farms to communities and urban centers, consumer prices can also be moderated. This is a practical way of helping both producers and buyers at the same time.
Government must also begin reducing the country’s vulnerability to recurring fuel-driven crises. One important step is the stronger promotion of electric vehicles, especially in public transport and local mobility systems. Supporting e-buses, e-jeeps, e-trikes, and related infrastructure can gradually reduce dependence on imported fossil fuel, lower operating costs over time, and create a cleaner transport future. This is not simply a technological option. It is an economic protection strategy for the future.
Alongside this, government should expand the use of nature-based solutions as part of a broader response to fossil fuel dependence and environmental stress. Reforestation, watershed protection, river rehabilitation, mangrove restoration, and greener urban planning are not merely environmental programs. They are long-term investments in resilience, water security, ecological stability, and healthier communities. A country that protects its ecosystems also strengthens its capacity to endure economic and environmental shocks.
The national government should also provide stronger support to Filipino inventors and innovators, especially those working on e-development, energy-efficient technologies, local mobility solutions, and community-based power systems. Filipino talent should not remain underfunded or overlooked. Innovation grants, research support, pilot projects, and market pathways can help local inventions become practical national solutions.
In provinces with volcanic and related geothermal potential, government should also invest more seriously in geothermal power development. This can provide a more stable and indigenous energy source, lessen dependence on imported fuel, and improve local energy security. Provinces blessed with such natural advantages should be enabled to become centers of cleaner and more reliable power generation.
Local governments also have a major role to play. They may not control global inflation or world oil prices, but they can soften the effects through responsive local action. They can help bring services closer to communities, support barangay-level interventions, improve local transport coordination, strengthen food security efforts, and localize renewable energy and nature-based initiatives. Barangays, in particular, can become frontliners in making these responses more immediate and more accessible to the people.
Economic crisis may begin beyond the control of ordinary citizens. But the suffering it causes should never be ignored by those entrusted with public power. Government must act not only as manager of institutions, but as protector of human dignity. When families are struggling to survive the weight of rising costs, public service must be felt not in slogans, but in concrete relief, wise policy, and timely action where it matters most: in the everyday life of the people.
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