09 March 2025– Guimaras. The inflation rate in Guimaras province significantly slackened to 0.6% in February 2025, from 2.7% in January 2025, bringing the provincial average inflation for January to February 2025 to 1.7%, based on the latest price data released by the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA).

“The downtrend in the overall inflation in February 2025 was primarily influenced by the decreased year-on-year price change in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 0.7 percent during the month, from 4.2 percent in January 2025”, Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

“The slower annual price change on transport at -0.8 percent in February 2025 from 2.4 percent in the previous month and restaurants and accommodation services at -8.0 percent from -5.7 percent a month ago also contributed to the slower inflation rate.,” Losare added.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages groups shared 79.6 percent to the downtrend of February inflation, while transport and restaurants and accommodation service spliced 10.1 and 5.2 percent respectively.

“From January to February 2025, food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport and restaurants and accommodation services were mainly pushed by the slow-moving price movement of rice with 4.9 percent inflation from 16 percent, passenger transport by sea and inland waterway with -11.2 percent from 42.4 percent and restaurants, café and the like - with full service with -8.2 percent inflation from -5.9 % inflation” Losare said.

Likewise, the slow-moving inflation rate was also noted in the other three commodity groups: Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and other Fuels at 2.1 percent in February from 2.6 percent in January 2025; Health at -1.0 percent in February from -0.4 percent in January 2025; and Recreation, Sports, and Culture at 1.1 percent in February from4.1 percent in January 2025.

In contrast, the following were the items with faster inflation in February than in January 2025: 

• Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 4.8 percent from 4.6 percent 

• Clothing and Footwear, 2.4 percent from 2.3 percent 

• Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Maintenance, -0.1 percent from 0.4 percent 

• Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 1.8 percent from 1.7 percent

While the other 3 commodities retained their previous month’s inflation rate (Information and Communication: 3.3 percent, Education Services: 0.0 percent, and Financial Services; 0.0 percent).

In February 2025, the overall inflation rate in Guimaras was primarily influenced by three major commodity groups: food and non-alcoholic beverages at 57.2 percent of the province’s inflation rate, or 0.34 percentage points, with the notable decrease primarily driven by a significant 5.1% decline in rice, except NFA rice, regular milled, impacting overall food costs.

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels followed closely at 54.3 percent, or 0.33 percentage points contribution to the inflation, with a significant impact from electricity from all sources (coal, solar, hydro, etc.)— showing an inflation rate of 4.8%.

Lastly, Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco contributed 27.2 percent, or 0.16 percentage points, to the overall inflation largely driven by a remarkable 6.4% inflation rate in spirits and liquors.

Losare also highlighted that in February 2025, core inflation in Guimaras fell to 0.8%, up from 1.5% in January. This decrease indicates a slight deceleration in underlying inflation.

“Core inflation excludes volatile items such as food and energy, providing a clearer perspective on long-term price trends”, Losare explained.

In Guimaras, core inflation dropped significantly from 3.8% in February 2024 to 0.8% in February 2025 indicating easing price pressures. The transport sector had the highest impact on inflation, contributing 35.5%, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages (32.2%) and restaurants and accommodation services (24.9%). Some sectors, such as health and recreation, also experienced slower prices in February 2025.

Guimaras posted the most significant inflation decline in Region VI, dropping from 7.2% in March 2024 to 0.6% in February 2025

Antique also recorded a notable decrease, falling from 6.7% in April 2024 to 0.0% in February 2025. Meanwhile, Aklan and Capiz experienced moderate inflation trends, peaking at 6.4% and 4.7%, respectively, before stabilizing at 1.4% and 2.7% in early 2025. Iloilo and Negros Occidental followed steadier patterns, with Iloilo recording 5.6% in August 2024 before easing to 4.5%, while Negros Occidental peaked at 4.9% in July 2024 before settling at 2.0%. Despite overall declines across the region, Iloilo and Capiz maintained more stable inflation rates, compared to the sharp drops in Guimaras and Antique.

“The Inflation Rate is the rate of change in the CPI derived by computing the indices relative to the same period in the previous year or month, and currently, Guimaras Province posted a 133.3 CPI, translating that a typical Guimarasnon household needs 1,333.00 pesos in February 2025 to purchase a basket of goods and services worth 1000 pesos in 2018," Losare clarified.

“The Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) in Guimaras retained at 0.75 in February 2024. This indicates that one peso in 2018 is now worth 0.75 centavos, recording a devaluation of 0.01 from 0.74 PPP in January 2025. PPP in February 2024 was at 0.75 centavos,” Losare added.