Starting February 2022, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) released the rebased Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all income households to base year 2018, from base year 2012 as announced in the press release number 2022-01 dated 04 January 2022. The CPI series for all income households for January 2022 onwards will be 2018-based.

Year on Year Inflation rate in Central Visayas was recorded at 5.0 percent

• The inflation rate in Central Visayas exhibited a slower pace for March 2022 at 5.0 percent which was lower than the 5.1 percent annual increase in February 2022.  This brings the regional average inflation from January to March 2022 at 5.0 percent. In March 2021, inflation was at 1.5 percent. (Figure 1)

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• The downtrend in the overall inflation was mainly driven by the decrease in the inflation of the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages index at 6.3 percent during the month from 7.9 percent in February 2022. (Figure 2)

• Lower annual increments were also observed in the following commodity groups:

o   Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 4.3 percent;

o   Health, 2.4 percent;

o   Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services index, 0.7 percent; and

o   Clothing and Footwear, 0.5 percent.

• Meanwhile, higher annual increments were observed in the indices of the following commodity groups during the period:(Figure 2)

o   Transport, 8.9 percent;

o   Furnishing, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance,       5.6 percent;

o   Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels, 5.5 percent; and

o   Restaurants and Accommodation Services, 1.4 percent.

• Indices of the rest of the commodity groups retained their previous month’s annual growth rates: (Figure 2)

o   Financial Services, 45.1 percent;

o   Recreation, Sport and Culture, 0.1 percent;

o   Education Services, 0.0 percent; and

o   Information and Communication, 0.0 percent.

March 2022 CPI in Central Visayas was recorded at 109.1

• The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Central Visayas was posted at 109.1 in          March 2022. This means that on average, prices of goods and services in the region increased by 9.1 percent from the base year 2018. This was higher than the 108.8 from the previous month. An increasing movement of the CPI was recorded from March 2021 at 103.9 to March 2022 at 109.1. (Figure 3 and 4)

• Higher annual rate was noted in the indices of each commodity group from February and March 2022 compared to February and March 2021. Information and Communication and Education Services posted a constant index February and March 2021 and 2022 at 100.9 and 106.3, respectively. (Table B)

Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) was recorded at 0.92 in March 2022

• The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) in Central Visayas was posted at 0.92 in March 2022. A downtrend movement was recorded from March 2021 to March 2022, except in August 2021 which posted an increase at 0.96. A decline was recorded from      0.96 in May 2021 to 0.95 in the months of June and July 2021. Moreover, a decrease was observed from August 2021 at 0.96 percent to 0.95 percent from September 2021 to December 2021. Starting January 2022, the PPP further declined to 0.92 and remained constant until March 2022. (Figure 5)

TECHNICAL NOTES

The Philippine Statistics Authority generates and announces the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) based on a nationwide survey of prices for a given basket of goods and services. Two important indicators, the inflation rate and purchasing power of the peso (PPP), are derived from the CPI which are important in monitoring price stability and the value of the country’s currency. 

The CPI is an indicator of the change in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households relative to a base year.

Retail Price is the price at which a commodity is sold for spot in small quantities for consumption.

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

Market Basket is a term used to refer to a sample of goods and services that are commonly purchased and bought by an average Filipino household.

Weight is a value attached to a commodity or ground of commodities to indicate the relative importance of that commodity or group of commodities in the market basket.

Inflation Rate is equivalent to a decline in the purchasing power of the peso. It is the change in the CPI over a specific period of time (usually a month or a year). That is, where:

CPI₁ - is the CPI in the previous period
CPI₂ - is the CPI in the current period

The Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) is a measure of the real value of the peso in a given period relative to a chosen reference period. It is computed by getting the reciprocal of the CPI and multiplying the result by 100. That is,

Headline Inflation is the rate of change in the weighted average prices of all goods and services in the CPI basket.

Approved by:

(SGD.) ARIEL E. FLORENDO
Regional Director