Guimaras logs fourth straight month of deflation

The province of Guimaras posted a negative inflation rate of -0.1 percent in October 2025, marking the fourth consecutive month of deflation.

This brought the province’s average inflation rate to 0.4 percent from January to October 2025.

The sustained negative rate indicated that, on average, prices of goods and services were lower compared to the same period in 2024, when inflation stood at 3.6 percent.

“The Consumer Price Index (CPI) in Guimaras for October 2025 was recorded at 131.5,” said Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare.

The CPI measures the average change over time in the prices of goods and services commonly purchased by households.

“This implies that a typical Guimarasnon household needed PHP 1,315 in October 2025 to purchase the same basket of goods and services worth PHP 1,000 in 2018,” she added.

Losare said the CPI remained stable from the previous month, reflecting the unchanged overall inflation rate.

The slight uptick in the province’s overall inflation in October 2025 was mainly driven by the faster annual increments in several commodity groups.

These included housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which registered a slower decline of -2.6 percent from -5.4 percent in September 2025.

Clothing and footwear prices rose by 3.0 percent, up from 2.6 percent the previous month.

The index for alcoholic beverages and tobacco increased slightly to 7.8 percent from 7.7 percent.

Other commodities that posted faster annual increases were health at 3.6 percent from 3.5 percent and recreation, sport, and culture at 0.5 percent from 0.4 percent.

In contrast, four of the 13 commodity groups recorded slower inflation rates in October 2025 compared to September.

These were food and non-alcoholic beverages at -2.5 percent from -2.0 percent; transport at 4.9 percent from 5.3 percent; information and communication at 0.0 percent from 0.9 percent; and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services at 1.3 percent from 1.4 percent.

Four commodity groups retained their September inflation rates—furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance at 0.2 percent; education services at 0.8 percent; restaurants and accommodation services at 10.4 percent; and financial services at 0.0 percent.

The top three contributors to Guimaras’ overall inflation in October 2025 were food and non-alcoholic beverages at 1.35 percentage points or 1,354.7 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 0.40 percentage point or 403.1 percent; and education services at 0.01 percentage point or 10.2 percent.

“Under food and non-alcoholic beverages, the decline in rice prices was identified as the main contributor to the group’s overall negative inflation,” Losare said.

She added that the continued decline in the housing and utilities group was driven by lower electricity rates from sources such as coal, solar, and hydro, which helped offset increases in other goods.

Western Visayas recorded a slight increase in inflation, rising to 0.7 percent in October 2025 from 0.2 percent in September.

Despite the increase, the figure was significantly lower than the 4.1 percent inflation rate in October 2024, indicating sustained easing of price pressures in the region.

Most provinces continued to record low or negative inflation rates.

Antique and Aklan remained in deflation at -0.9 percent and -0.4 percent, respectively.

Capiz posted a near-zero inflation rate of 0.1 percent, while Guimaras stayed in deflation at -0.1 percent.

Iloilo Province and Iloilo City recorded the highest inflation rates in the region at 1.4 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively, though still below their levels from a year ago.

Antique logged the sharpest negative inflation among the provinces, while Iloilo Province maintained moderate inflation.

Guimaras’ continued deflation reflected the regional trend of gradually declining price pressures.

The Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) in Guimaras was recorded at PHP 0.76 in October 2025.

“This means that PHP 1.00 in 2018 was equivalent to only PHP 0.76 in October 2025,” Losare explained.

She said the PPP in the province remained relatively stable from January to October 2025, ranging between PHP 0.74 and PHP 0.76.

The lowest PPP was recorded in January 2025 at PHP 0.74, while the highest value of PHP 0.76 was sustained in April, July, September, and October.