Guimaras posts –0.6% inflation in January 2026

Guimaras opened 2026 with a negative inflation rate of –0.6 percent in January, slower than the –1.3 percent recorded in December 2025 and significantly lower than the 2.7 percent posted in January 2025, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

“Inflation rates at the national and regional levels remained positive, with the Philippines at 2.0 percent and Western Visayas at 2.3 percent in January 2026,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

Losare said the slower decline in overall inflation in January 2026 was primarily influenced by a faster annual increase in transport, which rose to 4.7 percent from 0.8 percent in December 2025 and accounted for a 35.1 percent share of the uptrend.

“The commodity that showed the largest share in the increasing trend of the transport index was passenger transport by sea and inland waterways, which recorded 74.2 percent inflation and contributed 99.1 percent to the total transport inflation. This was followed by the prices of motorcycles, which posted 1.1 percent inflation, and domestic scheduled air transport fares, which registered 12.1 percent inflation,” Losare said.

She added that the annual price decline for food and non-alcoholic beverages eased to –4.2 percent in January 2026 from –4.5 percent in December 2025, while housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels slowed their decline to –0.4 percent from –1.0 percent a month earlier, contributing to the overall uptrend.

“Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses also showed a significant share in the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages commodity group, recording 11.8 percent inflation, particularly pumpkins, squash, and gourds, fresh or chilled. Meanwhile, cereals and cereal products registered –16.6 percent inflation, mainly due to the decline in prices of bread,” Losare said.

Losare said the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels group also contributed to the increasing trend, driven by electricity, which recorded –3.2 percent inflation, particularly electricity from all sources (coal, solar, hydro, among others).

“This was accompanied by charcoal, which posted 1.3 percent inflation, specifically wood and bamboo charcoal, and materials for the maintenance and repair of the dwelling, which registered 1.5 percent inflation, notably small plumbing items (pipes, taps, joints, among others), surfacing materials (floorboards, ceramic tiles, among others), and brushes and scrapers used for paint, varnish, and wallpaper,” she said.

Faster annual increases in January 2026 compared with December 2025 were also observed in restaurants and accommodation services at 11.9 percent from 10.4 percent, health at 6.2 percent from 4.0 percent, clothing and footwear at 2.2 percent from 0.9 percent, personal care and miscellaneous goods and services at 1.5 percent from 0.9 percent, information and communication at 1.2 percent from 0.0 percent, furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance at 0.5 percent from 0.1 percent, and recreation, sport and culture at 0.7 percent from 0.5 percent.

In contrast, alcoholic beverages and tobacco recorded slower inflation at 5.4 percent in January 2026 from 6.3 percent in December 2025.

Education services retained an inflation rate of 0.8 percent, while financial services remained at 0.0 percent.

Losare said the top contributors to the province’s overall inflation in January 2026 were food and non-alcoholic beverages, with a 333.1 percent share or a 2.00 percentage-point contribution, and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, with a 9.1 percent share or a 0.05 percentage-point contribution.

“Under [the] Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages commodity group, cereals and cereal products recorded the largest contribution, posting –16.6 percent inflation in January 2026, which was faster compared with –17.2 percent in December 2025. This was mainly driven by the prices of rice,” Losare said.

“Fruits and nuts also made a significant contribution to the Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages inflation. In January 2026, this group recorded –17.4 percent inflation, particularly in mangoes, guavas, and mangosteens. Meanwhile, meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals registered 2.9 percent inflation, driven mainly by fresh, chilled, or frozen meat,” Losare added.

Under housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, electricity posted the largest contribution, recording a -3.2 percent inflation in January 2026, faster than –5.7 percent in December 2025, particularly electricity from all sources (coal, solar, hydro, among others).

“Gas also made a significant contribution to inflation in the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels commodity group. In January 2026, gas recorded –2.5 percent inflation, particularly liquefied hydrocarbons (butane, propane, among others) delivered in storage containers,” she added.

Losare said the Consumer Price Index in Guimaras stood at 133.8 in January 2026.

“The CPI measures the average change in the prices of goods and services commonly purchased by households over time,” Losare said.

“This implies that a typical Guimarasnon household needs PHP 1,338 in January 2026 to purchase the same basket of goods and services worth PHP 1,000.00 in 2018. The stability of the CPI from the previous month reflects the unchanged overall inflation rate of the province,” she added.

The Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) in Guimaras was recorded at PHP 0.75 in January 2026.

“This means that the value of PHP 1.00 in 2018 is equivalent to only PHP 0.75 in January 2026,” Losare said.

“From January to December 2025, the PPP in the province ranged from PHP 0.74 to PHP 0.77. The lowest PPP, at PHP 0.74, was recorded in January 2025, while the highest level of PHP 0.77 was observed in November 2025. PPP values of PHP 0.76 were noted in April, July, September, October, and December 2025,” Losare added.