Central Visayas inflation remains highest in Philippines

CEBU, Philippines — Central Visayas recorded the highest inflation rate among the country’s 18 regions in May 2026, with prices of basic goods and services rising by 10.8 percent, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-7.

PSA-7 Officer-in-Charge Wilma A. Perante said the region’s inflation rate remained unchanged from the 10.8 percent recorded in April 2026. However, it was significantly higher than the 0.9 percent inflation rate registered in May 2025.

Central Visayas was followed by the Caraga Region, which posted a 9.4 percent inflation rate in May 2026.

Perante said food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to the region’s overall inflation, accounting for 5.93 percentage points and registering a 15.2 percent inflation rate.

Among food commodities, cereals and cereal products contributed the most to overall inflation, accounting for 2.07 percentage points and posting a 17.1 percent inflation rate. Fish and other seafood followed with a 1.58 percentage-point contribution and a 23.7 percent inflation rate, while vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses contributed 1.33 percentage points after registering a 54 percent inflation rate.

Transport emerged as the second-largest contributor to inflation, accounting for 1.97 percentage points and recording a 21.9 percent inflation rate.

Within the transport sector, gasoline contributed 0.89 percentage point to overall inflation after prices increased by 49.2 percent. Passenger transport by sea and inland waterways contributed 0.57 percentage point with an inflation rate of 36.6 percent, while domestic air passenger transport accounted for 0.25 percentage point and posted a 59 percent inflation rate.

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels ranked as the third-largest contributor to regional inflation, accounting for 1.10 percentage points and posting a 4.9 percent inflation rate.

Perante said liquefied hydrocarbons contributed 0.38 percentage point to overall inflation and registered a 29.3 percent inflation rate. Rentals accounted for 0.35 percentage point with a 2.3 percent inflation rate, while water supply contributed 0.13 percentage point after recording an 11.6 percent inflation rate.

Despite remaining unchanged from the previous month, Perante said the 10.8 percent inflation rate in May 2026 underscored the continuing pressure on household expenses in Central Visayas, particularly on food and transportation costs.

Meanwhile, Perante said inflation for the bottom 30 percent income households in Central Visayas accelerated to 15.4 percent in May 2026, up from 14.0 percent in April 2026.

The latest figure also reflected a sharp increase from the -1.9 percent inflation rate recorded in May 2025 for the same income group.

Perante said the upward trend in inflation among low-income households was mainly driven by faster price increases in key commodity groups, particularly food, transport, and services.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages remained the primary driver of inflation for the bottom 30 percent income households, rising to 18.8 percent in May 2026 from 16.5 percent in April 2026. Transport also contributed significantly, with inflation accelerating to 23.5 percent from 19.0 percent in the previous month.

Restaurants and accommodation services likewise posted a faster increase, reaching 12.7 percent from 10.2 percent in April 2026.

Perante noted that higher annual growth rates were also observed across several other commodity groups, including alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which rose to 5.9 percent from 5.6 percent; clothing and footwear, to 5.1 percent from 4.4 percent; furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, to 2.6 percent from 2.4 percent; health, to 3.6 percent from 3.3 percent; information and communication, to 1.8 percent from 1.7 percent; recreation, sport and culture, to 4.6 percent from 4.5 percent; and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services, to 4.7 percent from 4.5 percent.

However, inflation eased in the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels category, slowing to 13.2 percent from 15.1 percent in April 2026.

Education services remained steady at 3.3 percent, while financial services recorded a flat rate of 0.0 percent, unchanged from the previous month.

Perante said food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for the largest share of inflation among the bottom 30 percent income households at 63.1 percent, equivalent to 9.72 percentage points. This was followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 15.3 percent, or 2.35 percentage points, and transport at 10.0 percent, or 1.53 percentage points. — (FREEMAN)