Central Visayas inflation accelerates to 8.3% in September

Local

CENTRAL Visayas may no longer be the inflation hotspot in the Philippines but its headline rate for September accelerated to 8.3 percent as consumers continued to grapple with higher food, transportation and household costs, government data showed.

Latest figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed the region’s inflation rate, or the general increase of prices in essential goods, climbed from 8.0 percent in August.

Central Visayas also continued to experience faster price increases than the country as a whole. National inflation climbed to 7.2 percent in September from 6.1 percent the previous month.

The latest regional figure means that, based on 2018 consumer prices, P100 today has the same purchasing power as only about P74.40.

Food remained one of the biggest sources of price pressure.

Inflation for food and nonalcoholic beverages in Central Visayas accelerated to 8.9 percent in September from 8.5 percent in August, according to PSA data.

Rice, a major component of Filipino household spending, recorded an even sharper increase.

Rice inflation in Central Visayas rose to 14.1 percent in September from 13 percent in August.

The consumer price index for rice reached 109.87, up from 107.96 in August and 96.33 in September 2025.

Corn inflation, on the other hand, eased to 10.5 percent from 13.2 percent in August.

Transportation remained another major source of inflation, although its rate of increase moderated during the month.

Transport inflation stood at 15.5 percent in September, down from 16.2 percent in August.

Despite the slowdown, transportation registered one of the highest inflation rates among the major commodity groups in Central Visayas.

Price increases also accelerated for furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, with inflation rising to 7.4 percent from 6.6 percent.

Restaurants and accommodation services likewise recorded an 11.2 percent inflation rate, higher than the 10.3 percent recorded in August.

Education services swung to 1.3 percent inflation in September from a revised 1.5 percent decline in August.

Meanwhile, inflation for housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels slightly eased to 7.1 percent from 7.2 percent.

Alcoholic beverages and tobacco also slowed to 4.9 percent from 5 percent.

Other commodity groups posted relatively modest movements. Clothing and footwear inflation increased to 3.8 percent from 3.5 percent, while health inflation edged up to 4.4 percent from 4.3 percent.

Inflation for personal care and miscellaneous goods and services also rose to 3.4 percent from 3.2 percent.

Information and communication inflation increased to 0.5 percent from 0.3 percent, while recreation, sport and culture remained unchanged at 3.8 percent.

Meanwhile, financial services recorded zero inflation for both August and September.(RBE)