ILOILO City – Inflation, or the rate at which prices of goods and services rise and erode consumers’ purchasing power, accelerated further in Western Visayas to 6.8 percent in May 2026, matching the national inflation rate and hitting low-income families hardest as food and transport costs continued to climb, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Data released by the PSA showed that inflation among the bottom 30 percent of income households rose to 7.7 percent in May from 7.2 percent in April, reflecting growing pressure on household budgets as everyday necessities became more expensive.
The region’s overall inflation rate increased to 6.8 percent in May from 6.6 percent in April, while year-to-date inflation from January to May reached 4.4 percent, significantly higher than the 1.5 percent recorded in the same month last year.
PSA regional director Nelida Amolar said the rise in inflation was mainly driven by higher prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
“The uptrend in overall inflation in May 2026 was mainly influenced by the faster annual growth in the index of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages,” Amolar said in the agency’s report.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages registered an inflation rate of 5.7 percent in May, up from 4.9 percent in April.
Restaurants and accommodation services also posted faster inflation at 17.2 percent from 15.9 percent, while furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance rose to 6.1 percent from 5 percent.
Among all commodity groups, food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed the largest share to the region’s headline inflation at 36.9 percent, equivalent to 2.51 percentage points.
Transport accounted for 27.4 percent or 1.86 percentage points, while restaurants and accommodation services contributed 13 percent or 0.89 percentage points.
Food inflation alone accelerated to 5.7 percent from 4.8 percent in April, largely due to rising prices of cereals and cereal products.
“The uptrend in the inflation rate of the food group during the month was primarily due to the increase in the inflation rate of cereals and cereal products,” Amolar noted.
Cereals and cereal products posted a 13.5-percent inflation rate in May, up sharply from 8.5 percent in April.
The commodity group accounted for 72.5 percent of food inflation, followed by fish and seafood at 20.9 percent and vegetables and related crops at 13.8 percent.
Across Western Visayas, Antique recorded the highest inflation rate at 9.3 percent, while Capiz posted the lowest at 4.3 percent. Iloilo Province registered a slight decline to 7.2 percent from 7.4 percent in April, while Iloilo City maintained its inflation rate at 6.0 percent.
The PSA said it will continue monitoring price movements in the region as food and transport remain the biggest contributors to inflation./PN
