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.

Table A. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, All Items
In Percent
(2018=100)

                              Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

                              *Year-on-year change of CPI for February to March 2024 vs. 2023

Figure 1. Inflation Rates by Region
All Items: February 2024 and March 2024
In Percent
(2018=100)

                                           Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

A.    The Philippines

The Philippines’ headline inflation or overall inflation increased to 3.7 percent in March 2024 from 3.4 percent in February 2024. This brings the national average inflation from January to March 2024 at 3.3 percent. In March 2023, inflation rate was higher at 7.6 percent. (Table A)

By Region

Among the 17 regions, 12 regions recorded faster inflation rates during the month and three regions recorded slower inflation rates relative to their February 2024 inflation rates while two retained its previous months rate. Region I (Ilocos Region) recorded the lowest inflation rates at 2.2 percent while BARMM recorded the highest inflation at 5.0 percent during the month. (Figure 1)

B. Central Visayas

1.    Regional Inflation

Inflation in Central Visayas increase to 3.2 percent in March 2024 from 2.7 percent in February 2024. This brings the regional average inflation from January 2024 to March 2024 at 2.8 percent. In March 2023, inflation rate was higher at 6.6 percent. (Table A, B, and Figure 1)

1.1 Main Drivers to the Upward Trend of the Regional Inflation

The uptrend in the regional inflation in March 2024 was primarily brought about by the faster year-on-year increase of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 4.1 percent in March 2024 from 2.9 percent in February 2024. Also contributing to the uptrend of regional inflation was the faster year-on-year increase in the index of health with 4.7 percent in March 2024 from 4.5 percent in February 2024. (Table 3)

In contrast, three commodity groups registered lower inflation rates during the month: (Table 3)

a.    Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 9.4 percent from 10.0 percent; 
b.    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, 1.1 percent from 1.6 percent; and
c.    Transport, 1.7 percent from 1.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the following commodity groups retained their previous month's rate:
a.    Clothing and Footwear at 2.3 percent;
b.    Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance at 2.9 percent;
c.    Information and Communication at 0.3 percent;
d.    Recreation, Sport and Culture at 3.8 percent;
e.    Education Services at 1.4 percent; 
f.    Restaurants and Accommodation Services at 4.4 percent;
g.    Financial Services, at -0.2 percent; and
h.    Personal Care, And Miscellaneous Goods and Services at 4.7 percent.

1.2 Main Contributors to the Regional Inflation

The top three commodity groups contributing to the 3.2 percent regional inflation in March 2024 were the following:

a.    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages with 50.5 percent share or 1.6 percentage points;
b.    Restaurants and Accommodation Services with 12.7 percent share or 0.4 percentage point; and
c.    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels with 8.4 percent share or 0.3 percentage point.

2. Food Inflation

Food inflation at the regional level accelerated to 4.2 percent in March 2024 from 2.9 percent in February 2024. In March 2023, food inflation was higher at 8.2 percent. (Table 7)

2.1 Main Drivers to the Upward Trend of Food Inflation

The acceleration of food inflation in March 2024 was mainly brought about by the slower year-on-year decrease in vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses index at 9.5 percent in March 2024 from 20.9 percent annual decline in the previous month. In addition, meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals index recorded a faster annual increment of 8.2 percent during the month from 7.6 percent in February 2024.

The inflation rate of cereals and cereal products, which includes rice, corn, flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, also increased to 9.3 percent during the month from 9.2 percent in February 2024. (Table 5)

Higher inflation rates during the month were also noted in the indices of the following food groups;
a.    Fruits and Nuts, 5.3 percent from 4.5 percent; and
b.    Ready-made food and other food products, 6.1 percent from 5.9 percent.

On the contrary, lower annual growth rates during the month were observed in the indices of the following food groups: (Table 5)
c.    Milk, Other Dairy Products, and Eggs, 8.2 percent from 9.0 percent; and
d.    Oils and fats, 0.3 percent from 0.8 percent.

In addition, faster annual decline was observed in the index of fish and other seafood at 3.6 percent from a 2.8 percent annual decline in February 2024 and faster annual decline in the index of sugar, confectionery and desserts at 5.2 percent from a 4.2 percent annual decline in February 2024.

2.2 Main Contributors to the Food Inflation

Food shared 47.4 percent or 1.5 percentage point to the overall inflation in March 2024. The top three food groups in terms of contribution to the food inflation during the month were the following:

a.    Cereals and cereal products, which includes rice, corn, flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, with 76.5 percent share or 3.2 percentage points; 
b.    Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals with 28.0 percent share or 1.2 percentage points; and
c.    Milk, other dairy products and eggs with 15.5 percent share or 0.7 percentage point.

Table B. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates in Central Visayas
All Items: January 2020 – March 2024
In Percent
(2018=100)

                                                  Source: Philippine Statistics Authority

C. By Province

Among the provinces and Highly Urbanized Cities (HUCs) of Central Visayas, the Province of Cebu recorded the lowest inflation in March 2024 at 0.3 percent while the City of Mandaue recorded the highest inflation during the month at 7.5 percent.

Moreover, two provinces and the three HUCs recorded faster year-on-year growth rates this month compared to the previous month’s inflation rates while two provinces registered a slower annual increment during the month relative to their respective 
February 2024 annual rate. (Table A, Figure 3)
 

Figure 3. Inflation Rates by Province and Highly Urbanized Cities 
in Central Visayas
All Items: March 2023, February 2024, and March 2024
In Percent
(2018=100)

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 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