Trumpflation, Asean Pacifism and Leviste VATism

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This paper will cover four topics so we go straight to the numbers and facts.

Trumpflation

A really bad news in the country announced by the Philippines Statistics Authority last Tuesday is the high inflation of 7.2 percent in April 2026 from only 1.4 percent in April 2025. Sad development for our people although this is not unique to us, it is a global trend. Other countries’ inflation for April 2025 to April 2026 are as follows: Vietnam, 3.1 to 5.5 percent; Sri Lanka, -0.2 to 5.4 percent; Pakistan, 0.3 to 10.9 percent; Italy, 1.9 to 2.8 percent; Germany, 2.1 to 2.9 percent; Spain, 2.2 to 3.2 percent; Belgium, 2.6 to 4.1 percent.

Countries with no April 2026 data yet, here are the comparative inflation numbers from March 2025 to March 2026: Australia, 2.4 to 4.6 percent; Mexico, 3.9 to 4.6 percent; UK, 2.6 to 3.3 percent; US, 2.4 to 3.6 percent.

We are now into 10 weeks of Trump-Netanyahu attack of Iran and counter-attack by the latter. The war caused destruction of many oil-gas facilities in the Gulf and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in high prices of oil, gas, naptha, petrochem and fertilizer products. Hence, “Trumpflation” or Trump-triggered global inflation.

High unemployment

Related to rising inflation is rising unemployment in many countries especially the Philippines. The unemployment for March 2025 to March 2026 are as follows: Japan, 2.5 to 2.7 percent; Hong Kong, 3.2 to 3.7 percent; Philippines 3.9 to 5.0 percent; China, 5.2 to 5.4 percent; Australia, 4.1 to 4.3 percent; Poland, 5.3 to 6.1 percent; Sweden, 8.5 to 9.7 percent; Finland, 10.1 to 11.1 percent.

ASEAN Pacifism

Today is the start of the two-day ASEAN Summit in Mactan, Cebu, tomorrow is the plenary where all presidents or prime ministers of the 10 member-countries will jointly sign a formal agreement and declaration towards peace and prosperity in the region.

There are conflict and territory disputes among member-countries of course. Like between Cambodia-Thailand, Philippines-Malaysia over Sabah, but such disputes are generally settled diplomatically. The only big war in the region was the US invasion and occupation of Vietnam from 1965 to 1973 although the last US troops left Vietnam in April 1975.

In the latest statement by the association issued last April 30, they called on the member-countries and their trading partners to reiterate a “rules-based, non-discriminatory, open, and predictable, multilateral trading system.” Non-discriminatory, non-arbitrary and stable trade rules means more peace. Countries prefer to send cargo ships, not battle ships to each other.

Leviste VATism

I stumbled on the Facebook page of Rep. Leandro Legarda Leviste of Batangas, I was surprised at its content – lots of personal and political attacks against his fellow Batangueño Executive Secretary (ES) Ralph Recto and his wife, Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto.

Among Leviste’s attacks is that ES Recto is opposing VAT reduction or removal of certain commodities. But VAT retention or increase or reduction is under the Department of Finance and Secretary Frederick Go in particular, and the DBCC in general that include DEPDev Secretary Arsenio Balisacan and DBM Secretary Rolando Toledo. It is not the ES main function.

One problem of low VAT collection efficiency in the country is that so many sectors are exempted from VAT, including the sale of solar companies. And Leviste’s main business is in solar.

I also saw the official statement of ES Recto released last Tuesday. He stated among others,

“Sa unang pagtatagpo pa lang namin, may handa siyang P400 milyon at mariin niya akong pinakiusapan na suhulan ang kanyang kalaban sa pulitika upang umatras ito sa kampanya. Tinanggihan ko ito.

“Noong sumunod na linggo, hindi pa siya nakontento. Inalok niya kami ng P1 bilyon para sa pag-urong ni Gov. Vi upang siya ang humalili. Umiiyak ang nanay niya habang ginagawa niya ito. Muli, tinanggihan ko ito. Nakakainsulto. Nakakagalit.

“… noong nanalo si Leandro, nanumpa siya sa akin dahil mayroon siyang paulit-ulit na hinahangad: ang makamkam ang libu-libong ektarya mula sa hacienda ng tubo sa Nasugbu.  Wala akong kakayahang pagbigyan ang isang maituturing na agaw-lupa. Tinanggihan ko ulit ito....
“Kaya niya ginagawa ito ay para malunod ang kanyang P24 bilyon na utang na resulta ng kanyang ghost solar projects – ang kanyang pinakamalaking budol sa pamahalaan at sambayanang Pilipino.

“He is a deranged and dangerous person who will even skin his loved ones, and use their skin to drumbeat his empty achievements to feed his narcissism. He is the leading national inventor of lies, and in a desperate move to escape accountability, is resorting to lies to divert the issue from his misdeeds.”

Last Jan. 29 in this column, “Solar sa Politika and energy security,” I wrote there,

“Rep. Leandro Leviste… of Solar Philippines Power Project Holdings Inc. (SPPPHI or SP for short) and Solar Para sa Bayan Corp. (SPBC)… has been slapped by the Department of Energy (DOE) with a P24 billion penalty for its failure to deliver its commitments, to develop some 11,400 MW of solar farms under 42 Service Contracts (SCs) with DOE from 2017-2022.

“DOE Secretary Sharon Garin said the DOE consistently reached out to SP regarding its contracts but the company failed to respond. So DOE terminated 24 of the 42 SCs.”

Horrible crimes by a neophyte congressman: (1) Bribery of a sitting Executive Secretary, (2) land grabbing attempt for thousands of hectares in Batangas, and (3) escaping a P24 billion penalty by the DOE on his ghost solar projects.

I think ES Recto is patient enough to just describe the congressman as “deranged and dangerous.” I will have more unkind adjectives given such behavior but I would rather not utter it here.