THE sagging popularity of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is no doubt caused by the untamed prices of basic commodities, particularly food. Food prices contribute around 57 percent to our total inflation. Various reputable survey firms have noted that two-thirds of their respondents have expressed dissatisfaction in the manner by which the administration is managing inflation.

Inflation inched up to almost 4 percent in March and there are prospects that the upswing continued in April and will again in the coming months because of increases in the prices of fuel and food commodities. The bottom 30 suffer more because over 60 percent of their expenditures goes to procuring food, leaving little to spend on other goods (e.g., health, education, clothing and shelter).