Inflation remains the top "urgent national concern" for most Filipinos for September — a consistent issue since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. took office in 2022.

Private polling firm Pulse Asia released the latest national survey on "Urgent National Concerns" released on Tuesday ahead of the release of the domestic inflation rate for September 2023.

Pulse Asia's "Ulat ng Bayan" survey, conducted from 10 to 14 September and involving 1,200 adult respondents, revealed that 74 percent expressed worry about managing the increasing prices of essential goods.

"Inflation continues to be the leading urgent national concern among Filipinos; public sentiment on the matter is virtually unchanged between June 2023 and September 2023 as well as year-on-year," Pulse Asia said.

"Except for the double-digit increase in the level of concern regarding the need to control the rising prices of basic goods (+11 percentage points) from June 2023 to September 2023, public opinion about urgent national concerns is virtually constant during this period," Pulse Asia added.

The second most commonly cited urgent national concern, mentioned by 49 percent of respondents, is the need to raise worker's wages. A third category of responses includes creating more employment opportunities (27 percent), reducing poverty (25 percent), and combating corruption in government (22 percent).

Pulse Asia also found that most Filipinos in all geographic areas and socio-economic classes are concerned about controlling inflation, while 51 percent of those in Luzon, 55 percent in the Visayas, and 52 percent in Class D are concerned about increasing worker's pay.

"No other national concerns are deemed urgent by majorities across areas and classes," it pointed out.

The Pulse Asia survey had a margin of error of approximately ±2.8 percent at a 95 percent confidence level. Additionally, there was a ±5.7 percent margin of error for each specific locality or region.

The government is currently implementing a price cap on rice due to its sudden increase in price, while also providing a fuel subsidy in response to consecutive weeks of oil price hikes.

It's worth noting that Marcos Jr.'s dream of lowering the price of rice to P20 per kilo, which he frequently mentioned during the 2022 presidential elections, has not yet been realized.