PSA says Bicol Region sees a drop in inflation rate

By Kim Villafuerte

In a press conference held by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA V) on March 11, 2024, at Legazpi City, Regional Director PSA V Cynthia Perdiz revealed that the headline inflation for products and services in the Bicol Region witnessed a decrease to a rate of 2.9% as of Feb 2024.

In comparison to the previous month, January recorded an inflation rate of 3.1%, while in February 2023 last year, the inflation rate surged to 8.8%.

Perdiz explained that the reduction in housing prices, water, electricity, and other fuels contributed to a -6.7% inflation, holding an 81.6% share in the overall decline in the region’s inflation rate.

Moreover, the slow rise in restaurant prices, accommodation services, and medicine prices also contributed to the drop, with 4.5% and 1.4% inflation rates.

Regional Director PSA V Cynthia L. Perdiz, CESO V during the Feb 2024 Inflation Report of Bicol Region-Press Conference. Photo courtesy to PSA Bicol.

Regarding the overall inflation this February 2024, according to Perdiz, commodity goods, food, and non-alcoholic beverages take the lead for having the highest share, followed by restaurants and accommodation services. And lastly, alcoholic beverages and tobacco having the lowest.

Perdiz explained that this is because people buy commodity goods, food, and non-alcoholic beverages more often compared to the other categories.

In addition, Perdiz also mentioned that Catanduanes has the highest inflation rate in the region with a 4.6% rate while Sorsogon, on the other hand, has a significantly lower rate of only 0.3%.

According to Perdiz, it is because Catanduanes usually imports fruits and vegetables and has a higher rate when it comes to transportation, restaurants and accommodation services. And while the health inflation rate in the region decreased, Catanduanes rose to 2.3%. Sorsogon on the other hand, has a lower rate since fish prices in the province dropped.