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 slowed down further to 1.8 percent in March 2025 from 2.1 percent in the previous month. This brings the national average inflation rate from January to March 2025 to 2.2 percent. The inflation rate in March 2024 was higher at 3.7 percent. (Tables A and B)   
 

B.    Central Visayas

The headline inflation in Central Visayas in March 2025 decreased to 2.4 percent from 2.5 percent in the previous month. This brings the regional average inflation from January to March 2025 to 2.5 percent. In March 2024, the inflation rate was higher at 3.2 percent. (Tables A and C)  
 

C.    Province of Bohol

1.    Headline Inflation

The headline inflation in Bohol remained at 2.9 percent in March 2025. This brings the provincial average inflation from January to March 2025 to 2.8 percent. In March 2024, the inflation rate was higher at 3.3 percent. (Tables A and D, and Figure 1)

In comparison to national and regional figures, Bohol’s inflation rate in March 2025 was 1.1 and 0.5 percentage points higher than the national and regional inflation rates, respectively. (Table A)
 

1.1    Main Drivers to the March 2025 Headline Inflation

In March 2025, six commodity groups retained their previous month’s inflation rates. These include: 
a. Clothing and footwear at 1.1 percent;
b. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance at 1.2 percent;
c. Information and communication at 1.8 percent;
d. Education services at 6.7 percent;
e. Restaurants and accommodation services at 0.0 percent; and 
f. Financial services at 0.0 percent.

Meanwhile, faster annual increases were observed in the indices of the following:
a. Food and non-alcoholic beverages, -0.5 percent from -1.4 percent;
b. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 12.9 percent from 12.4 percent; and
c. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 2.0 percent from 1.9 percent.

On the other hand, lower annual increments were recorded in the indices of the following commodity groups in March 2025:
a. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 3.1 percent from 3.2 percent;
b. Health, 1.4 percent from 1.5 percent;
c. Transport, -1.2 percent from 2.8 percent; and
d. Recreation, sport and culture, 0.9 percent from 1.0 percent. (Table E)

1.2 Main Contributors to the March 2025 Headline Inflation

The top three commodity groups contributing to the March 2025 overall inflation were the following: 
a. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with 95.4 percent share or 2.77 percentage points;
b. Education services with 5.4 percent share or 0.16 percentage point; and
c. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services with 2.4 percent share or 0.07 percentage point.

2.    Food Inflation

Food inflation at the provincial level rose to -0.6 percent in March 2025 from -1.5 percent in the previous month. In March 2024, food inflation was higher at 6.7 percent.

2.1 Main Drivers to the Upward Trend of Food Inflation

The acceleration of food inflation in Bohol in March 2025 was primarily driven by the faster inflation rate in Fish and other seafood at 10.6 percent during the month from 4.1 percent in February 2025. Also contributing to the uptrend of the food inflation in March 2025 were Milk, other dairy products and eggs at 1.6 percent from -2.1 percent in the previous month, and Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at 5.2 percent from 2.2 percent in the previous month.

Moreover, higher annual growth rates were also observed in the indices of the following food groups in March 2025:
a. Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 3.6 percent from 2.3 percent;
b. Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 5.4 percent from -0.2 percent; and
c. Ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified (n.e.c),   3.2 percent from 2.1 percent.

On the contrary, lower annual growth rates were observed in the indices of the following food groups in March 2025:
a. Rice, -11.3 percent from -8.9 percent;
b. Corn, -18.9 percent from -14.5 percent; and
c. Fruits and nuts, 7.8 percent from 9.7 percent.

Meanwhile, Oils and fats remained at 0.1 percent inflation rate during the month.

2.2 Main Contributors to the Food Inflation

Food inflation shared -7.3 percent or -0.21 percentage point to the overall inflation in March 2025. The top three food groups in terms of contribution to food inflation during the month were the following:
a. Cereals and cereal products, with 717.9 percent share or -4.31 percentage points, with Rice as the major contributor under this food group with 696.7 percent share or -4.18 percentage points;
b. Oils and fats, with -0.5 percent share or 0.00 percentage point; and
c. Ready-made food and other food products n.e.c, with -23.2 percent share or 0.14 percentage point. 

Table E. Inflation Rate by Commodity Group for All Income Households in Bohol: 
March 2024, February 2025, and March 2025

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

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/VGE