HEADLINE inflation in the island province of Guimaras accelerated to 4.7 percent in May 2026, up from 4.4 percent in April, according to the latest price statistics from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The province’s average inflation from January to May settled at 2.1 percent. Despite the uptick, Guimaras’ May inflation rate remained lower than both the national and Western Visayas regional averages during the same period.
Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare identified Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, and Personal Care and Miscellaneous Goods and Services as the primary drivers of the May acceleration.
Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages posted a 3.0 percent inflation rate, contributing a dominant 93.1 percent to the overall upward trend. Within this group, fish and other seafood registered a 6.3 percent inflation rate (accounting for 38.1 percent of the commodity group’s movement), followed by vegetables and tubers at 18.1 percent, and rice and cereal products at 5.2 percent.
Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco recorded a 5.5 percent inflation rate, contributing 2.7 percent to the uptrend. This was heavily driven by an 8.4 percent price surge in tobacco products, particularly cigarettes. Personal Care and Miscellaneous Goods and Services registered a 4.9 percent inflation rate, accounting for 2.5 percent of the rise.
Despite experiencing a slight deceleration from the previous month, Transport remained the top overall contributor to Guimaras’ inflation in May, capturing a 43.9 percent share of the total.
“This was mainly due to higher inflation rates in passenger transport services, particularly sea and inland waterway transport, which recorded an inflation rate of 27.4 percent,” Losare said. She added that fuels and lubricants, specifically gasoline, also heavily weighted the sector with a 36.8 percent inflation rate.
Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages ranked as the second largest contributor to overall inflation with a 32.3 percent share, while Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco ranked third at 6.1 percent.
Meanwhile, slower inflation rates were observed in Transport (dropping to 27.5% from 31.2%), Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels (falling sharply to 1.3% from 3.3%), Restaurant and Accommodation Services (1.5% from 3.8%), Furnishings and Household Maintenance (1.2% from 1.6%), and Clothing and Footwear (3.2% from 3.3%).
Purchasing power stays stable
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Guimaras stood at 139.5 in May. This means a typical Guimarasnon household required P1,395 to purchase a basket of goods and services that cost P1,000 during the 2018 base year.
Concurrently, the Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) in the province held steady at P0.72, unchanged from April 2026, indicating that the local currency’s purchasing capacity remained stable despite escalating price pressures.
“Overall, the further increase in inflation in May indicated strengthening price pressures during the second quarter, indicating continued upward movements in the prices of selected commodities in the province,” Losare concluded./PN
