Eastern Visayas

The regional annual price decline for the bottom 30% income households in Eastern Visayas further decelerated to 1.5 percent in July 2025, from 0.5 percent annual price decrease in June 2025. This brings the average annual price decrease of goods and services for the bottom 30% income households from January to July 2025 to 0.3 percent (Tables 1 and 2).

Moreover, the regional annual price decline for this income group was faster than the 0.8 percent national annual price decline recorded in July 2025. In July 2024, Eastern Visayas recorded 5.5 percent inflation rate (IR) for the bottom 30% income households (Tables 1 and 2).

Main Drivers of the Downtrend of the Regional Inflation

The main driver to the faster annual decrease of the bottom 30% income households in July 2025 was the annual price decrease in the housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels commodity group at 1.9 percent, from 1.5 percent IR in June 2025. The heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages also contributed to the downtrend of the regional IR with a faster annual price decline at 2.5 percent during the month, from 1.8 percent annual price decline in June 2025. Moreover, the faster annual price decrease of the transport commodity group at 1.8 percent during the month, from 0.9 percent annual price decrease in the previous month, also contributed to the downtrend of the regional IR.

In addition, lower IRs were observed in the following commodity groups during the month:

a. Education services, 0.9 percent from 12.7 percent; 
b. Restaurants and accommodation services, 1.0 percent from 1.2 percent; 
c. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 4.5 percent from 4.7 percent; and 
d. Clothing and footwear, 0.8 percent from 0.9 percent.

On the other hand, compared with their IRs in June 2025, higher IRs were observed in the following commodity groups:

a. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 0.8 percent from 0.6 percent; 
b. Health, 1.5 percent from 1.4 percent; 
c. Information and communication, 0.4 percent from 0.2 percent; 
d. Recreation, sport and culture, 2.6 percent form 2.5 percent; and 
e. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 2.0 percent from 1.9 percent.

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

Main Contributors to the Regional Inflation

The top three (3) commodity groups that contributed largely to the regional annual price decrease for the bottom 30% income households in July 2025 were the following:

a. Food and non-alcoholic beverages, with 99.4 percent share or -1.49 percentage points; 
b. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, with 17.5 percent share or -0.26 percentage point; and 
c. Transport, with 7.0 percent share or -0.11 percentage point.

Food Inflation

Food inflation for the bottom 30% income households in Eastern Visayas recorded a faster annual price decline of 2.9 percent in July 2025 from 2.2 percent annual price decrease in June 2025. In July 2024, food inflation rate for this income group was posted at 8.6 percent (Table 3).

The faster annual decline in food for the bottom 30% income households was primarily brought about by faster annual price decline in rice at 15.9 percent in July 2025, from 14.7 percent annual price decrease in June 2025. This was followed by the slower IRs recorded in vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses at 4.1 percent IR in July 2025, from 9.5 percent IR in June 2025. Fruits and nuts with 0.4 percent annual price decline during the month, from 1.4 percent IR in the previous month, also contributed to the downtrend of the food inflation.

In addition, the food groups of ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified (n.e.c.); and meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals registered lower IRs during the month in review at 1.5 percent and 9.9 percent, from 3.1 percent and 10.1 percent in June 2025, respectively.

On the other hand, the food groups of flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals; and fish and other seafoods registered higher IRs at 1.6 percent and 7.9 percent in July 2025, from 1.5 percent and 6.4 percent in June 2025, respectively.

Moreover, the food group of sugar, confectionery and desserts recorded 0.5 percent during the month in review, from 0.3 percent annual price decline in June 2025.

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

a. Corn,1.1 percent; 
b. Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 4.7 percent; and 
c. Oils and fats, 0.4 percent.

Main Contributors to the Food Inflation

The annual price decrease in food for the bottom 30% income household in July 2025 pulled down the regional IR by 1.65 percentage points. The food groups with the highest contribution to the annual price decrease in food during the month were the following:

a. Cereals and cereal products, which includes rice, corn, flour, bread, and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, with 206.3 percent share or -5.98 percentage points; and 
b. Fruits and nuts, with 0.5 percent share or -0.01 percentage point.

Inflation Rate by Region

In comparison with their IRs in June 2025, only Bicol Region registered higher IR for the bottom 30% income households in July 2025, while the remaining 17 regions registered either lower IRs or faster annual price decreases. Eastern Visayas’ annual price decline for this income group at 1.5 percent ranked as sixth fastest among the 14 regions with annual declines during the month in review, and was at par with Caraga region. In July 2025, Central Visayas registered the fastest annual price decline of 3.1 percent. On the other hand, National Capital Region (NCR) recorded the highest IR at 1.6 percent (Figure 2 and Table 4).

Inflation Rate by Province

The average prices of goods and services for the bottom 30% income households in Eastern Samar and Northern Samar recorded annual price decreases in July 2025 after registering IRs in June 2025. Biliran and Leyte recorded faster annual price decreases in July 2025. On the other hand, Southern Leyte and the lone Highly Urbanized City of Tacloban recorded slower annual price decreases, while Samar retained its previous month’s annual price decrease.

For this income group, all of the provinces recorded annual price drop offs, with both Biliran and Northern Samar recording the fastest annual decline of 2.6 percent. This was followed by Southern Leyte with 1.9 percent annual decline, Eastern Samar with 1.8 percent annual decline, and Samar with 1.4 percent annual price decrease. Leyte recorded the slowest annual decline among the provinces at 1.0 percent. Meanwhile, Tacloban City recorded 0.3 percent annual price decrease during the month. (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