GUIMARAS – Inflation for the bottom 30% income households here cooled to 0.7% in March 2025, down from 1.3% in February and a steep drop from 8.5% in March 2024, bringing the first quarter average to 2.1%, based on the latest price statistics of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
“The downtrend in the overall inflation for the bottom 30% income households in March 2025 was primarily influenced by the decreased year-on-year price change in the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 0.0% during the month, from 1.5% in February 2025,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.
She added: “The slow-moving annual price change on housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 0.6% in March 2025 from 2.2% in the previous month also contributed to the slower inflation rate.”
The food and non-alcoholic beverages commodity group shared 83.1% of the downtrend of March inflation, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and personal care spliced 16.9%.
“From February to March 2025, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels were mainly pushed by the slow-moving price movement of rice with -4.6% inflation from 5.2%, electricity from all sources (coal, solar, hydro, etc. with -2.1% from 4.8%, respectively,” Losare said.
In contrast, four commodity groups showed faster inflation rates in March:
* alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 10.1% from 4.2%;
* health, 2.7% from 2.2%;
* transport, -0.1% from -0.7%; and
* restaurants and accommodation services, -3.2% from -8.2%.
While clothing and footwear (1.5%), furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance (1.2 %), information and communication (5.5%), recreation, sport and culture (1.2%), education services (0.0%), financial services (0.0%), and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services (1.6%), retained their previous month’s annual rates.
Moreover, the overall inflation rate for low-income HHs last month was primarily influenced by alcoholic beverages and tobacco with a 77.4% contribution of the province’s inflation rate, or 0.41 percentage points, with the notable price increase primarily driven by a significant 9.7% surge in cigarettes, impacting overall alcoholic beverages and tobacco costs.
Information and communication followed closely with an 11.3% impact on overall province’s inflation, or 0.08 percentage points, with a noteworthy bearing from television sets, and TV aerials of all types — showing an inflation rate of 18.7%.
Lastly, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels also noted a significant effect on the overall province’s inflation of 8.2%, or 0.06 percentage points, with a substantial weight from wood and bamboo charcoal— displaying an inflation rate of 14.5%./PN
