Guimaras low-income inflation remains negative in February

Inflation for low-income households, or the bottom 30 percent income group, in Guimaras remained in negative territory at minus 1.0 percent in February 2026, improving from minus 2.2 percent in January 2026, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Inflation measures the rate at which the prices of commonly purchased goods and services rise or fall over time, and the February reading meant prices for low-income households in Guimaras were still lower than they were a year earlier, although the decline was slower than in January.

This brought the province’s year-to-date inflation rate to minus 1.6 percent.

The inflation rate for low-income households in Guimaras was significantly lower than the national rate of 2.5 percent and the Western Visayas regional rate of 2.7 percent during the same period.

The faster inflation movement in February 2026 was primarily driven by price changes in eight commodity groups, particularly the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels; and restaurants and accommodation services.

“Under food and non-alcoholic beverages, cereals and cereal products registered the largest share in the inflation trend with -15.7 percent inflation in February 2026 from -18.4 percent in January 2026, accounting for 44.5 percent share of the inflation trend of the commodity group,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

“This movement was mainly attributed to the price changes in rice, a staple commodity for most households,” Losare added.

Losare said housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels recorded an inflation rate of 1.3 percent in February 2026, up from minus 0.6 percent in January 2026.

“Within this commodity group, electricity, gas and other fuels registered the largest share with 2.3 percent inflation in February 2026 from -1.4 percent in January 2026, contributing 80.3 percent share to the inflation trend of the commodity group,” Losare said.

For restaurants and accommodation services, restaurants, cafes, and similar full-service establishments recorded 14.6 percent inflation in February 2026, up from 12.0 percent in January 2026.

That segment accounted for 100 percent of the inflation trend of the commodity group.

Other commodity groups that posted faster annual increases were personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, at 3.3 percent from 2.1 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco, at 6.6 percent from 5.8 percent; transport, at 4.8 percent from 4.3 percent; and clothing and footwear, at 1.5 percent from 1.4 percent.

In contrast, three commodity groups posted slower inflation rates in February 2026.

These were furnishings, household equipment, and routine household maintenance, at 2.0 percent from 2.1 percent; health, at 2.3 percent from 4.0 percent; and recreation, sport, and culture, at 0.7 percent from 1.2 percent.

Education services, at minus 0.8 percent, and financial services, at 0.0 percent, retained their previous month’s annual rates.

In terms of contribution to overall inflation for low-income households in February 2026, food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for the largest share at 253.8 percent, or 2.54 percentage points.

“The top contributors within this group were cereals and cereal products, with 350.3 percent contribution or 3.50 percentage points, particularly rice; meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, with 43.8 percent contribution or 0.44 percentage point, particularly fresh, chilled, or frozen pork; and fruits and nuts, with 18.2 percent contribution or 0.18 percentage point, mainly influenced by fresh mangoes, guavas, and mangosteens,” Losare said.

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 February 2026, the CPI in Guimaras for low-income households was 133.8.

“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.

She added that this means a typical low-income household in Guimaras would need PHP 1,338 in February 2026 to purchase the same basket of goods and services that cost PHP 1,000 in 2018, the base year used in computing the CPI.