GUIMARAS province’s year-on-year headline inflation remained steady at 4.9 percent in September 2026, unchanged from the previous month, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-Guimaras.
Provincial Statistical Specialist Nelida B. Losare noted that despite the unchanged rate, Guimaras remained significantly lower than Western Visayas’ regional inflation of 9.2 percent and the national average of 7.2 percent. The island province’s average inflation from January to September stood at 3.3 percent.
Transport remained the province’s largest inflation driver at 23.7 percent, contributing 35.9 percent to the overall rate—largely pushed by gasoline price spikes and passenger transport costs.
Food and non-alcoholic beverages followed as the second-largest contributor, easing slightly to 2.7 percent from 2.9 percent in August, driven largely by rice and fish prices.
Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels ranked third, increasing to 4.1 percent from 2.9 percent due to higher electricity and water utility rates.
Together, these three major commodity groups accounted for 75.2 percent of the overall inflation.
While seven commodity groups recorded slower price increases during the month — including transport and food — faster inflation was observed in housing-related expenses (4.1%), household furnishings (6.6%), and health (6.4%), keeping the province’s overall inflation rate stable.
Meanwhile, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Guimaras was 138.9 in September 2026 (2018=100), indicating that the average prices of goods and services were 38.9 percent higher than average prices in 2018.
Correspondingly, the Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) remained at P0.72 in September, meaning that P1.00 in 2018 was equivalent to only P0.72 worth of goods and services during the month. The PPP remained at this level from April through September this year./PN
