A.    Negros Occidental

Highlights of the press conference includes the Bottom 30% Income Households in Negros Occidental increased to 3.2% in March from 1.7% in February 2025. In March 2024, the inflation rate was posted at 2.7% (Please see Table 1 and Figure 1).

For Negros Occidental Bottom 30% Income Households, the following commodity groups were the top three main sources of acceleration to the March 2025 inflation:

a.    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages at 2.8% inflation in March from 0.0% inflation in February 2025, with 50.1% share,
b.    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels at 4.1% inflation in March from 2.9% inflation in February 2025, with 15.9% share,
c.    Restaurants and Accommodation Services at 5.6% inflation in March from 7.4% inflation in February 2025, with 13.1% share.

Meanwhile, the top two major contributors to the March 2025 inflation for Bottom 30% Income Households in Negros Occidental are:

a.    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages at 2.8% inflation in March from 0.0% inflation in February 2025, with 90.2% share,
b.    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels at 4.1% inflation in March from 2.9% inflation in February 2025, with 9.5% share.

Figure 2. Inflation Rates for the Bottom 30% Income Households in 
Bacolod City, All Items (2018=100)
 

B.    Bacolod City

Meanwhile, for the Bottom 30% Income Households in Bacolod City decreased to 3.2% in March from 3.4% in February 2025. In March 2024, the inflation rate was posted at 4.4% (Please see Table 1 and Figure 2).

For Bacolod City Bottom 30% Income Households, the following commodity groups were the top three main sources of deceleration to the March 2025 inflation:

a.    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages 1.7% inflation in March from 3.0% inflation in February 2025, with 27.4% share,
b.    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels at 5.2% inflation in March from 1.7% inflation in February 2025, with 24.2% share,
c.    Restaurants and Accommodation at 7.2% inflation in March from 8.1% inflation in February 2025, with 20.0% share.
    
Meanwhile, the top two major contributors to the March 2025 inflation for Bottom 30% Income Households in Bacolod City are:

a.    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages 1.7% inflation in March from 3.0% inflation in February 2025, with 82.0% share,
b.    Restaurants and Accommodation at 8.1% inflation in March from 7.2% inflation in February 2025, with 10.4% share.

Moreover, the third Press Conference for the year 2025 on Inflation Report of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City garnered support from the public and media personnel who watched the online livestream through the PSA Negros Occidental official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/psa0645negocc and Google Meet Link https://meet.google.com/gpc-emxu-fdd using the hashtag #NegOccBCDCPI. With this, PSA Negros Occidental is set to the conduct the Press Conference on Inflation every month.

DEFINITION OF TERMS AND CONCEPT USED:

Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of change in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of commodities or goods and services commonly purchased by the households relative to a base year or base period.

Base year or base period is a reference period, usually a year, at which the index number is set to 100. It is the reference point of the index number series.

Inflation rate refers to the annual rate of change or the year-on-year change of the CPI expressed in percentage.

The inflation rate can be positive or negative (deflation). A positive inflation rate means that the prices of commodities have increased compared with their prices in the previous year. Negative inflation means that the prices of commodities have decreased compared with their prices in the previous year.

A positive but lower inflation rate compared to the previous month’s inflation rate means that the prices of commodities for the current month have increased year-on-year but at a slower rate than the year-on-year increase in the previous month. It does not mean that the prices of commodities have decreased.

Bottom 30% Income Households – The CPI for the bottom 30% income households is compiled by the PSA to measure the changes of prices of commodities commonly purchased by the families that belong to the bottom 30% income decile.  The process of price collection and CPI computation is the same as that of the CPI for all income households.  However, there is a separate market basket and weights for the CPI for the bottom 30% income households.  

Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) is a measure of the real value of the peso in a given period relative to the base period.
 

Approved for release:

SGD JOHN F. CAMPOMANES
Chief Statistical Specialist

SAT/LMG