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. 

A.    The Philippines

The Philippines’ headline inflation or overall inflation in January 2025 remained at 2.9 percent, the same annual growth rate recorded in December 2024. Inflation in January 2024 was posted at 2.8 percent. (Tables A and B)   
 

B.    Central Visayas

In January 2025, the headline inflation in Central Visayas decreased to 2.5 percent from 2.9 percent in December 2024. Inflation in January 2025 mirrors the 2.5 percent inflation rate recorded in the same month of the previous year, January 2024, indicating a stable year-on-year trend. (Tables A and C)  
 

C.    Province of Bohol

1.    Headline Inflation

The headline inflation in Bohol in January 2025 decreased to 2.7 percent from 3.4 percent in December 2024. The inflation rate (IR) in January 2024 was higher at 3.8 percent. (Tables A and D, and Figure 1)

In comparison to national and regional figures, Bohol’s IR in January 2025 is 0.2 percentage point lower than the national and 0.2 percentage point higher than the regional inflation rates. (Table A)
 

1.1    Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of the Headline Inflation

The downtrend in the overall inflation in Bohol in January 2025 was primarily influenced by the slower annual increment in the index of the heavily-weighted Food and non-alcoholic beverages at -2.1 percent from 1.6 percent in December 2024.

Moreover, slower annual increases were also observed in the indices of the following three commodity groups during the month:
a.    Education services, 6.7 percent from 11.2 percent;
b.   Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 1.2 percent from 1.5 percent; and
c.    Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 1.7 percent from 1.9 percent.

On the other hand, faster annual increments were observed in the indices of the following three commodity groups in January 2025:
a.    Clothing and footwear, 1.0 percent from 0.9 percent;
b.    Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 11.3 percent from 7.7 percent; and
c.    Transport, 4.5 percent from 3.9 percent.

Meanwhile, financial services recorded a zero percent inflation rate in January 2025 from -0.1 percent in December 2024.

The indices of the rest of the commodity groups remained at their respective previous month’s annual rates, as follows:
a.    Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, with 3.9 percent inflation;
b.    Health, with 1.4 percent inflation;
c.    Information and communication, with 1.8 percent inflation;
d.    Recreation, sport and culture, with 1.0 percent inflation; and
e.    Restaurants and accommodation services, with 0.3 percent inflation rate. (Table E)
 

1.2 Main Contributors to the Headline Inflation

The top three commodity groups contributing to the January 2025 overall inflation were the following:
a.  Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with 93.3 percent share or 2.52 percentage points;
b.  Transport with 20.7 percent share or 0.56 percentage point; and
c.   Education services with 5.1 percent share or 0.14 percentage point.
 

2.    Food Inflation

Food inflation at the provincial level eased further to -2.2 percent in January 2025 from 1.6 percent in December 2024. In January 2024, food inflation was higher at 7.5 percent.

2.1 Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of Food Inflation

The deceleration of food inflation in Bohol in January 2025 was primarily driven by the slower annual increment in Cereals and cereal products at           -5.8 percent from 2.5 percent in December 2024. Rice, the top contributor to this food group, recorded an inflation rate of -6.9 percent from 3.1 percent in December 2024. Meanwhile, Corn recorded a year-on-year decrease of -5.9 percent during this month from -5.3 percent in December 2024.
 

Moreover, lower annual growth rates were also observed in the indices of the following food groups in January 2025:
a.    Fruits and nuts, 0.3 percent from 10.4 percent;
b.    Milk, other dairy products and eggs, -1.1 percent from 1.4 percent;
c.    Fish and other seafood, -1.3 percent from -0.8 percent;
d.    Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 3.0 percent from 3.3 percent; and
e.    Sugar, confectionery and desserts, -0.6 percent from -0.3 percent.

On the other hand, faster annual increments were noted in the following food groups in January 2025:
a.  Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, -2.0 percent from -4.7 percent; and
b. Ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified, 3.2 percent from 2.4 percent.

Meanwhile, Oils and fats maintained a zero percent inflation rate from December 2024 to January 2025.
 

2.2 Main Contributors to the Food Inflation

Food inflation shared -32.1 percent or -0.87 percentage point to the overall inflation in January 2025. The following food groups were the top contributors to food inflation during the month:    
a.   Rice, with 102.6 percent share or -2.26 percentage points;
b.   Fish and other seafood, with 9.9 percent share or -0.22 percentage point; and
c.  Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, with 6.3 percent share or -0.14 percentage point. 
 

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 group of commodities to indicate the relative importance of that commodity or group of commodities in the market basket. 

Inflation Rate 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 

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

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,

Prepared by:

(SGD.) FIEL ROSE D. TAC-AN
Statistical Analyst

Approved by:

(SGD.) JESSAMYN ANNE C. ALCAZAREN
Chief Statistical Specialist

EBG