An economist said increasing minimum transport fares would lead to higher inflation.

The jeepney fare is expected to go up by the second week of September.

"The latest proposal to increase minimum jeepney fares, by P4 to P15 (from P11), as early as September 2022, would lead to higher inflation by about 1.2 percentage points for the coming months," chief economist Michael Ricafort of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp told Daily Tribune.

Earlier, the National Economic and Development Authority said a P1 increase in transport fares could boost inflation by 0.3 percentage points.

"This would impact the poor more, given the bigger share of transport fares in their respective budgets, as already limited by higher prices of other goods and services," Ricafort added.