Guimaras low-income inflation hits 4.7% in May

Inflation for the bottom 30% income households in Guimaras rose to 4.7% in May 2026 from 4.0% in April, bringing the province’s year-to-date inflation rate to 1.1%, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.

“In comparison, inflation was lower at 0.4 percent in May 2025,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

The May 2026 inflation rate was also below the national rate of 8.4% and the Western Visayas rate of 7.7% for low-income households, based on PSA data.

The acceleration was driven by mixed price movements across major commodity groups.

The food and non-alcoholic beverages index, which carries the largest weight in the consumption basket of low-income households, accelerated to 3.7 percent in May from 1.8 percent recorded in April 2026.

“Within the group, cereals and cereal products posted a substantial share of 26.4 percent, particularly rice,” Losare said.

This was followed by the alcoholic beverages and tobacco commodity group, which posted a higher inflation rate of 6.6 percent in May 2026, from 5.0 percent in the previous month.

“This was primarily driven by tobacco, which accounted for a 2.4 percent share of the overall inflation increase, largely due to higher prices of cigarettes,” Losare said.

The food and nonalcoholic beverages index, which carries the largest weight in the consumption basket of low-income households, accelerated to 3.7% in May from 1.8% in April.

“Within the group, cereals and cereal products posted a substantial share of 26.4 percent, particularly rice,” Losare said.

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco posted a higher inflation rate of 6.6% in May from 5.0% in April.

“This was primarily driven by tobacco, which accounted for a 2.4 percent share of the overall inflation increase, largely due to higher prices of cigarettes,” Losare said.

“The third source of trend was the personal care and miscellaneous goods and services which also recorded a faster annual increase of 8.9 percent, up from 8.5 percent in April 2026, contributing 0.9 percent to the upward price pressures during the month,” Losare said.

Faster annual increases were also recorded in recreation, sport and culture at 3.3%, clothing and footwear at 2.1%, and health at 4.9%.

In contrast, inflation slowed in housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which dropped to 0.0% in May from 2.8% in April.

Furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance eased to 2.3% from 2.4%, while transport slowed to 25.7% from 27.9%.

Restaurants and accommodation services also slowed to 1.3% in May from 3.7% in April.

Information and communication retained its previous month’s rate at 2.4%, while financial services stayed at 0.0%.

Education services was unchanged at -0.8%, according to the PSA report.

Food and nonalcoholic beverages remained the top contributor to the May inflation rate, accounting for 46.7% of the overall increase.

“Food and non-alcoholic beverages emerged as the primary driver of upward pressure, recording a sharp increase to 3.7 percent from 1.8 percent in the previous month, due to their weight of 62.06 percent,” Losare said.

Transport was the second-largest contributor, accounting for 32.5% of the overall inflation rate despite its slower annual increase.

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco contributed 8.9% to the overall inflation rate as its inflation rose to 6.6% from 5.0%.

Across Western Visayas, inflation for low-income households rose to 7.7% in May, the highest level since 2025.

Aklan posted the highest inflation rate in the region at 10.5%, followed by Antique at 9.6%, Iloilo province at 8.5%, Iloilo City at 6.5%, Guimaras at 4.7%, and Capiz at 3.8%.

Guimaras recorded the second-lowest inflation rate in the region, after Capiz.

Losare said inflation is derived from the Consumer Price Index, which measures changes in the average prices of goods and services commonly purchased by households over time.

In May 2026, the CPI for low-income households in Guimaras was recorded at 140.9.

“The CPI serves as the primary indicator used in computing the inflation rate, as it tracks movements in the prices of a fixed basket of goods and services typically consumed by households,” Losare explained.

“This means a typical low-income Guimarasnon would need ₱1,409 in May 2026 to purchase the same basket of goods and services that cost ₱1,000 in 2018, the base year used in computing the CPI,” Losare added.

The PSA said the CPI is also used to compute the purchasing power of the peso and serves as a key indicator for economic analysis and government policy monitoring.

The May data indicate that Guimaras has shifted back to positive inflation after recording negative rates for much of 2025 and early 2026.