Eastern Visayas

The Inflation Rate (IR) in Eastern Visayas continued to slow down to 1.0 percent in March 2025 from 1.1 percent in February 2025. This brings the region’s average IR from January to March 2025 to 1.1 percent. The regional IR was lower than the 1.8 percent national IR in March 2025. Moreover, the regional IR in March 2024 was higher at 3.4 percent (Table 1 and 2).

Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of the Regional Inflation

The downtrend of the regional IR in March 2025 was primarily brought about by the annual price decrease of the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages at 0.2 percent in March 2025 from 0.7 percent IR in February 2025. The annual price decrease for transport commodity group at 1.0 percent in March 2025 from 0.1 percent IR in the previous month also contributed to the downtrend of the regional IR. Moreover, the slower IR of restaurants and accommodation services at 0.8 percent in March 2025 from 0.9 percent in February 2025 contributed to the overall decrease of the regional IR.

In addition, the commodity groups of recreation, sport and culture and alcoholic beverages and tobacco registered slower IR at 1.6 percent and 3.3 percent in March 2025 from 1.8 percent and 3.4 percent in February 2025, respectively.

In contrast, higher IRs were recorded in the following commodity groups:

a. Clothing and footwear, 0.9 percent from 0.8 percent;   
b. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 3.9 percent from 2.2 percent;   
c. Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 1.3 percent from 1.2 percent; and   
d. Health, 2.0 percent from 1.6 percent.

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

a. Information and communication, 0.3 percent;   
b. Education services; 8.2 percent; and   
c. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 1.3 percent.

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

Main Contributors to the Regional Inflation

The top three commodity groups that contributed to the February 2025 regional IR were the following:            

a. Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, with 72.7 percent share or 0.7 percentage point;   
b. Education services with 9.5 percent share or 0.1 percentage point;   
c. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, with 9.2 percent share or 0.1 percentage point.

Food Inflation

The IR for food index registered an annual price decrease of 0.4 percent in March 2025 from 0.6 percent IR in February 2025. The IR for food in March 2024 was higher at 6.7 percent (Table 3).

The decrease of the IR for food in March 2025 was primarily influenced by the faster annual price decrease of rice at 8.9 percent in March 2025 from its annual price decrease of 6.3 percent IR in February 2025. The slower IR of fish and other seafoods at 3.5 percent during the month from 4.9 percent in February 2025 also contributed to the downtrend. Moreover, the slower IR of fruits and nuts at 1.4 percent in March 2025 from 5.9 percent in February 2025 contributed to the decrease of the IR for food.

In addition, slower IRs were also registered in the following food groups:

a. Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 1.8 percent from 2.3 percent;   
b. Ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified, 4.6 percent from 5.0 percent; and   
c. Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 1.5 percent from 1.6 percent.

In contrast, higher IRs were recorded in the following food groups:

a. Corn, 1.8 percent from 1.5 percent;   
b. Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 5.1 percent from 3.7 percent; and   
c. Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, 7.2 percent from 6.0 percent.

Moreover, oils and fats registered 0.2 percent IR during the month, from its annual price decrease of 0.2 percent in February 2025.

Meanwhile, sugar, confectionary and desserts recorded slower annual price decrease of 0.3 percent in March 2025, from 2.0 percent in February 2025.

Main Contributors to the Food Inflation

The annual price decrease in food pulled down the overall regional IR in March 2025 by -14.8 percent or -0.15 percentage point. The food groups with the highest contribution to the annual price decrease of 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 812.4 percent share or -3.25 percentage point; and   
b. Sugar, confectionary and desserts, with 3.0 percent share or -0.01 percentage point;

Inflation Rate by Region

In comparison with their IRs in February 2025, 11 regions recorded lower IRs, two (2) regions registered higher IRs, and four (4) regions retained their previous month’s IR. Eastern Visayas’ IR at 1.0 percent ranked fourth among the regions with low IRs during the month in review. In March 2025, SOCCSKSARGEN recorded the lowest IR at 0.2 percent annual price drop, while Cagayan Valley recorded the highest IR at 2.9 percent. (Figure 2 and Table 4).

Inflation Rate by Province/HUC

Relative to their IRs in February 2025, Leyte, Samar, and the lone Highly Urbanized City of Tacloban, registered lower IRs in March 2025. On the other hand, Biliran, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar recorded higher IRs during the month, while Southern Leyte retained its previous month’s IR. Among the provinces, Eastern Samar posted the highest IR at 3.2 percent in March 2025. This was followed by Biliran at 2.3 percent, Southern Leyte at 1.1 percent, and Leyte and Northern Samar both at 0.8 percent. The lowest IR among the provinces was registered in Samar at 0.2 percent annual price drop. Meanwhile, Tacloban City registered 0.2 percent IR in March 2025 (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