THE government received a blunt verdict in Pulse Asia’s September survey. In it, 71 percent of Filipino adults named controlling inflation among the country’s three most urgent concerns, and 81 percent disapproved of how the government is handling it. Only 10 percent approved.
The two figures measure different things: what Filipinos want addressed, and how they judge the response. They do not prove that the same respondents gave both answers. Still, together they describe a political problem that is hard to ignore. The issue people rank first is also the one on which the government draws its highest disapproval of any area tested.
The concern is rising. In face-to-face interviews with 2,400 adults from Sept. 17 to 24, the share naming inflation among their three most urgent issues climbed to 71 percent from 57 percent in July and 54 percent in September 2025. No other issue came close. Fighting corruption followed at 39 percent; higher workers’ pay, 36 percent; fighting criminality, 24 percent; and reducing poverty, 21 percent.
Inflation was the only issue named by majorities in every geographic area and socioeconomic class, ranging from 60 to 76 percent across areas. The class split is telling: 60 percent in Classes ABC, 72 percent in Class D, and 75 percent in Class E. Concern is highest among the households with the least room to absorb higher prices.
The price data back it up. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that inflation rose to 7.2 percent in September from 6.1 percent in August, ending four straight months of easing. The rate matched April’s and was the fastest since March 2023, when inflation reached 7.6 percent. The January-to-September average stood at 5.4 percent, above the government’s 2- to 4-percent target.
The increases are concentrated in expenses households cannot avoid. Food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation rose to 6.7 percent from 4.6 percent, with rice at 20.3 percent. Transport inflation climbed to 14.6 percent from 13.5 percent; and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels jumped to 8.4 percent from 7.9 percent. Together, those three groups accounted for 78.1 percent of overall inflation, the PSA said. Core inflation, which excludes selected food and energy items, rose to 4.7 percent from 4.1 percent.
Poorer households fared worse. Inflation for the bottom 30 percent of households by income reached 9 percent in September, up from 8.2 percent in August. Food made up 55.7 percent of it, about 5 of the 9 percentage points, with food inflation at 9.8 percent and rice at 23.6 percent. Their January-to-September average was 6.5 percent, against 5.4 percent nationally. A national average can make the shock look manageable on paper while the families with the least slack face faster increases in the essentials.
That helps explain why workers’ pay ranked third among urgent concerns. When earnings do not keep pace with prices, a salary buys less than it did last month, even if everyone in the household is still working.
Other ratings in the same survey show how broad the dissatisfaction runs. Disapproval reached 71 percent on illegal drugs, 70 percent on corruption, 67 percent on poverty, 65 percent on lowering gasoline prices, and 57 percent on criminality. Inflation’s 81 percent topped them all.
The administration has an explanation. Economy, Planning and Development Secretary Arsenio Balisacan attributed September’s rise mainly to weather-related disruptions in food supply and higher global oil prices. Those pressures are real. But explaining why prices rose is not the same as convincing households that the response is working. The government has to show progress where policy can make a difference: food logistics, market monitoring, targeted assistance, and how quickly relief reaches the people who need it.
The poll cannot show that inflation alone drives presidential approval, voting intentions or support for candidates, nor can it separate dissatisfaction with domestic policy from the effect of global conditions. Respondents could name up to three issues, so the percentages do not add up to 100. The national margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points at the 95-percent confidence level; regional and class estimates carry plus or minus 4.
The next surveys will show whether this is a spike or a settled judgment. If concern and disapproval stay high, the government will face more than a bad month in the price statistics. If both ease, the question will be whether households feel relief or have simply grown used to paying more.
Inflation is the issue Filipinos most want addressed, and 81 percent disapprove of how it is being handled. The administration can point to causes beyond its control, but households will judge the response by what their money can still buy.
Bong Habana Ruado is a former public-sector official whose career has spanned government, politics, public policy, and the private sector. His current interests include public opinion research, governance data, and explanatory journalism, with a particular focus on interpreting political surveys beyond their headline numbers. He holds degrees in political science and law (Juris Doctor) and completed the Strategic Business Economics Program at the University of Asia and the Pacific.
