Eastern Visayas

The average prices of goods and services in Eastern Visayas recorded an annual price decrease of 0.2 percent in July 2025 from 0.7 percent inflation rate (IR) in June 2025. This brings the region’s average IR from January to July to 0.7 percent. The regional annual price decrease was lower than the 0.9 percent national IR in July 2025. In July 2024, Eastern Visayas recorded an IR of 4.4 percent (Table 1 and 2).

Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of the Regional Inflation

The downtrend of the regional IR in July 2025 was primarily brought about by the annual price decline of the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages commodity group at 0.9 percent in July 2025 from zero inflation in June 2025. Also contributing to the downtrend was housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels with zero inflation in July 2025 from 2.2 percent in June 2025. The slower IR of education services at 0.8 percent in July 2025 from 8.3 percent in the previous month likewise contributed to the decrease of the regional IR.

In addition, slower IRs were recorded in the following commodity groups:

a. Restaurants and accommodation services, 0.9 percent from 1.1 percent;  
b. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 3.8 percent from 4.0 percent; and  
c. Clothing and footwear, 0.7 percent from 0.8 percent.

Moreover, the transport commodity group recorded faster annual price decline at 2.1 percent in July 2025 from its annual price decline of 1.6 percent in June 2025.

In contrast, faster IRs were registered in the commodity groups of recreation, sport and culture and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services at 2.0 percent and 1.9 percent in July 2025 from 1.9 percent and 1.7 percent in June 2025, respectively.

Meanwhile, the following commodity groups retained their previous month’s IR:

a. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 1.6 percent;  
b. Health, 1.9 percent; and  
c. Information and communication, 0.3 percent.

The IR for financial services remained at zero percent during the month (Table 3).

Main Contributors to the Regional Inflation

The top two (2) commodity groups that contributed to the July 2025 annual price decrease were the following:

a. Food and non-alcoholic beverages, with 203.3 percent share or -0.41 percentage point; and  
b. Transport, with 86.1 percent share or -0.17 percentage point.

Food Inflation

The food index registered annual price decrease of 1.2 percent in July 2025 from its annual price decrease of 0.2 percent in June 2025. In July 2024, food index recorded at 7.1 percent IR (Table 3).

The downtrend of the food inflation in July 2025 was primarily influenced by the slower IR of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at 3.6 percent in July 2025 from 9.2 percent in June 2025. This was followed by the faster annual price decline of rice at 15.5 percent in July 2025 from its annual price decline of 14.4 percent in the previous month. Moreover, the slower IR of fruits and nuts at 0.6 percent in July 2025 from 2.5 percent in June 2025 also contributed to the downtrend of the food index.

In addition, slower IRs were also recorded in the commodity groups of ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified (n.e.c) and meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals at 1.6 percent and 9.2 percent in July 2025 from 3.0 percent and 9.4 percent in June 2025, respectively.

In contrast, faster IRs were recorded in corn and fish and other seafood at 3.2 percent and 8.1 percent in July 2025 from 2.6 percent and 8.0 percent in June 2025, respectively.

Moreover, sugar, confectionery and desserts registered an IR of 0.5 percent in July 2025 from its annual price decrease of 0.3 percent in June 2025.

Meanwhile, the following food groups retained their previous month’s IRs:

a. Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 1.4 percent;  
b. Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 4.2 percent; and  
c. Oils and fats, 0.9 percent.

Main Contributors to the Food Inflation

Cereals and cereal products, which includes rice, corn, flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals contributed the highest to the annual price decline during the month with 407.6 percent share or -4.89 percentage points.

Inflation Rate by Region

In comparison with their IRs in June 2025, eight (8) regions recorded lower IRs in July 2025, two (2) regions registered faster annual declines, and two (2) regions posted annual decreases in July 2025 after registering IRs in the previous month. Meanwhile, two (2) regions recorded faster IRs, and three (3) regions retained their June 2025 IRs. Eastern Visayas’ annual price decline of 0.2 percent was the lowest among the five (5) regions with annual declines during the month in review. BARMM registered the fastest annual price decline of 1.7 percent. On the other hand, Ilocos Region recorded the highest IR at 1.9 percent (Figure 2 and Table 2).

Inflation Rate by Province/HUC

Relative to their IRs in June 2025, Eastern Samar, Leyte, and the lone Highly Urbanized City of Tacloban recorded slower IRs in July 2025. Biliran and Northern Samar registered an annual decline after registering IRs in the previous month, while Samar posted faster annual decline. On the other hand, Southern Leyte registered slower annual decline during the month in review.

Among the provinces, only Eastern Samar and Leyte registered positive IRs at 0.4 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. The rest of the provinces had annual price drop off, with Biliran recording the fastest annual decline of 1.1 percent. This was followed by Southern Leyte with 0.9 percent annual decline, Samar with 0.5 percent annual decline, and Northern Samar with 0.2 percent annual decline (Figure 3 and Table 5).

TECHNICAL NOTES

The current CPI series is 2018-based. The rebasing to 2018 is the 12th base period and 11th rebasing for CPI. The five steps involved in the rebasing/computing of CPI are as follows: (1) identification of the base year (2) determination of the market basket (3) determination of household consumption patterns/weights (4) monitoring of prices of items in the basket and (5) computation of CPI.

The 2018-based CPI series uses the same method of computation as the 2012-based CPI series, which is chained Laspeyres formula.

BASE YEAR - is a period at which the index number is set to 100. It is the reference point of the index number series. The CPI is rebased from 2012 to 2018.

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) - is an indicator of the change in the average prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households relative to a base year.

DEFLATION - is the decline in prices for goods and services that happens when the inflation rate dips below zero percent.

INFLATION RATE (IR) - is the annual rate of change or the year-on-year changes in CPI. It indicates how fast or how slow price changes over two time periods (year-on-year). Contrary to common knowledge, low inflation does not necessarily connote that prices of commodities are falling. It means that prices continue to increase but at a slower rate.

MARKET BASKET - refers to a sample of goods and services commonly purchased by the households. The market basket for CPI was updated using the results of the 2021 Survey of Key Informants (SKI). The commodities included in the 2018-based CPI market basket were the modal commodities which were considered as the most commonly purchased/availed commodities by the households. The commodities in the 2018-based CPI market basket were grouped/classified according to the 2020 Philippine Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (PCOICOP).

MONITORING OF PRICES - involves establishing baseline information for the prices of the items in the base year and monitoring the prices of the items on a regular basis. Data collection for the CPI is done by the provincial office twice a month, except for petroleum products which are monitored on a weekly basis, every Friday. First collection phase is done during the first five days of the month while the second phase is on the 15th to 17th day of the month.

PURCHASING POWER OF PESO (PPP) - gives an indication of the real value of peso (how much it is worth) in a given period relative to its value in the base period. It is computed as the reciprocal of CPI multiplied by 100.

RETAIL PRICE - refers to the actual price at which retailers sell a commodity on spot or earliest delivery, usually in small quantities for consumption and not for resale. It is confined to transactions on cash basis in the free market and excludes underground prices and prices of commodities that are on sale as in summer sales, anniversary sales, Christmas sales, etc.

WEIGHTS - is a value attached to a commodity or group of commodities to indicate the relative importance of that commodity or group of commodities in the market basket. The weights for the 2018-based CPI were derived from the expenditure data of the 2018 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES). The weight for each commodity/group of commodities is the proportion of the expenditure commodity/group of commodities to the total national expenditure. The sum of the weights of the commodity groups at the national level is equal to 100.

SGD. WILMA A. PERANTE  
Regional Director