Inflation for low-income households in Guimaras stays negative

Inflation for low-income households in the Province of Guimaras remained negative at –2.3% in December 2025, indicating that prices of commonly purchased goods and services by families in the bottom 30% income bracket continued to decline compared with the same month last year, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.

In comparison, the inflation rate for the Philippines stood at 1.1% in December 2025, while Western Visayas recorded 1.2%.

“These figures are notably higher than Guimaras’ –2.3%, highlighting that price levels in the province declined while prices at the national and regional levels continued to rise,” Provincial Statistics Officer Nelida B. Losare said.

Losare said the Consumer Price Index for the bottom 30% income households in Guimaras was recorded at 133.0 in December 2025.

“This means that a typical low-income Guimarasnon household needs PHP 1,330.00 in December 2025 to purchase the same basket of goods and services worth PHP 1,000.00 in 2018,” Losare added.

On a year-to-date basis, Guimaras posted an average inflation rate of –0.3%, lower than the national average of 0.3% and the regional average of 0.2%.

The primary source of the December 2025 inflation trend for low-income households was food and nonalcoholic beverages, which posted –5.2% inflation in December from –6.2% in November and accounted for an 80.2% share.

“The slower inflation of food and nonalcoholic beverages was due to the slower price movement of cereals and cereal products with –18.9% inflation, particularly rice,” Losare said.

The second major source was housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, which recorded –1.3% inflation in December from –2.6% in November and contributed 19.8% to the month’s inflation.

In contrast, slower inflation rates were noted in alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 8.2% from 10.0%; clothing and footwear at 0.2% from 0.5%; furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance at 1.1% from 1.7%; transport at 1.3% from 4.7%; and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services at 0.3% from 0.5%.

Health at 3.8%, information and communication at 0.0%, recreation, sport and culture at 0.5%, education services at 0.8%, restaurants and accommodation services at 10.5%, and financial services at 0.0% retained their previous month’s annual rates.

The top three commodity groups that significantly contributed to overall inflation for low-income households in December 2025 were food and nonalcoholic beverages, with a 138.6% share or a 3.19-point contribution; housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, with a 5.9% share or a 0.14-point contribution; and education services, which contributed 0.2% or 0.00 point to total inflation.

“Under food and nonalcoholic beverages, the increase in rice prices was identified as the major contributor to the group’s overall inflation,” Losare said. “Meanwhile, the movement in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels was influenced by lower electricity rates from various energy sources such as coal, solar and hydro, which helped offset price increases in other commodities.”

Inflation for low-income households in Western Visayas moderated in December 2025, registering 1.2%, up from –0.5% in November but still significantly lower than the 3.6% recorded in December 2024.

In Guimaras, inflation for the bottom 30% income group rose slightly to –2.3% in December 2025 from –2.7% in November, marking a continued decline compared with 4.3% in December 2024.

Among Western Visayas provinces, Guimaras recorded a moderate negative inflation rate in December 2025, lower than Antique at 0.8% and Aklan at –0.3%, but more pronounced than Capiz at 0.8%, Iloilo at 2.1% and highly urbanized Iloilo City at 2.4%, placing the province near the midrange of regional inflation performance.

Examining the 13-month trend, inflation for low-income households in Guimaras steadily slowed from a peak of 4.2% in January 2025 to persistent negative figures from June onward, culminating at –2.3% in December and mirroring the broader pattern of subdued price movements in the region.