10 June 2025– Guimaras. Inflation for low income households in Guimaras climbed to 0.4% in May 2025, reversing the downward trend observed over the past months as inflation for the province’s bottom 30% income households had previously eased to 0.2% in April, following a decline from 0.7% in March and a significant drop from 8.8% in May 2024, bringing the average inflation for the first five months of 2025 to a manageable 1.0% based on the latest price statistics released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

“The fast-moving inflation in May 2025 for the low-income HHs was primarily influenced by the increasing year-on-year price changes in the heavily weighted housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 4.4 % during the month, from 1.3% in April 2025”, Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

“The swelling annual inflation rate of personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services at 1.4 % in May 2025 from 1.0 % in the previous month and health at 3.1 % from 2.7 % also contributed to the speedy inflation of the bottom 30% income HHs”, Losare added.

The housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels commodity group shared 91.7% of the uptrend of May inflation, while personal care and miscellaneous goods and services; and health spliced 2.9 % and 1.8%, respectively.

“From April to May 2025, the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services; and health were mainly pushed by the faster price movement of electricity, gas and other fuels with 11.3 % inflation from 3.4 %; personal care with 1.4% inflation from 1.0%; and medicines and health products with 3.1 % from 2.7%, correspondingly”, Losare said.

Moreover, faster annual indices were seen in Restaurants and accommodation services, 10.5 % from 10.3 %, Transport, 0.9 % from 0.8 %, and Recreation, sport and culture, 0.2% from -0.1 %.

In contrast, three commodity groups showed slower inflation rates for low-income households in May 2025 than in April 2025: 

a. Food and non-alcoholic beverages, -2.0% from -1.8 %, 

b. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 9.9 % from 10.2 %, and 

c. Information and communication 4.8 % from 5.5%

While clothing and footwear (1.3%), furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (0.2%), education services (0.0(0.0%), financial services (0.0 %), and financial services (0.0 %), retained their previous month’s annual rates.

Moreover, in May 2025, the overall inflation rate for low-income HHs in Guimaras was primarily influenced by alcoholic beverages and tobacco with a 134.9% contribution to the province’s inflation rate, or 0.54 percentage points, with the notable 9.7% annual price increase in Cigarettes.

Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels followed closely with a 105.5% impact on the overall Guimaras inflation, or 0.42 percentage points, with a noteworthy bearing from electricity from all sources (coal, solar, hydro, etc.) showing an inflation rate of 14.8%.

Lastly, restaurants and accommodation services also noted a significant effect on the overall 92.4% inflation of the province, or 0.37 percentage points, with a substantial weight from Restaurants, café and the like - with full service, displaying an inflation rate of 10.6%.

Over the past 13 months, inflation rates for low-income households across Western Visayas have shown significant shifts, with Guimaras recording a slight increase to 0.4% in May 2025 from 0.2% in April, yet still maintaining one of the lowest rates in the region, as neighboring provinces like Aklan and Antique remained in deflation at -2.4% and -2.5%, respectively, while Capiz and Iloilo registered higher rates at 1.3% and 1.5%, highlighting Guimaras’ continued price stability despite coming from a peak of 8.8% in May 2024.

“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 134.6 CPI, translating that a typical low-income Guimarasnon needs 1,346.00 pesos in May 2025 to purchase a basket of goods and services worth 1000 pesos in 2018," Losare clarified.