Manila, April 4 -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Friday said the imposition of a maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) on agricultural commodities such as rice and pork helped in taming the overall inflation in the country.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. made the statement after the Philippine Statistics Authority reported that inflation slowed to 1.8 percent in March -- the lowest level in five years -- with food inflation easing to 2.3 percent from 2.6 percent in February as one of the main drivers.

He said the MSRP helped ensure a downward trend in food prices.

"While some sectors doubted the effectiveness of our MSRP implementation, the inflation numbers clearly show that we are on the right path in protecti...