BAGUIO CITY(PIA) -- The inflation rate in the Cordillera region continued to slow down to 2.8 percent in December 2023 from 3.3 percent in November 2023.

Aldrin Federico R. Bahit, Jr. of the  Philippine Statistics Authority -Cordillera(PSA-CAR)     reported during the virtual consumer price index data dissemination on January 25.

Bahit said  the main reason for the deceleration  in the Dec. 2023 inflation was  food and non-alcoholic beverages, which contributed 96.6 percent share to the inflation downtrend. This commodity group includes cabbages, tomatoes, potatoes, squids, and sugar as major contributor.

Further, the major contributors to the December 2023 inflation were education services with 8.2 percent, restaurant and accommodation services with 5.5 percent, and food and non-alcoholic beverages with 4.7 percent.

Among the six provinces and one highly urbanized city in CAR, Ifugao had the highest inflation rate with 6.8 percent, while Kalinga had the lowest with 0.7 percent.

The purchasing power of peso in CAR from base year 2018 was 81 centavos in Dec. 2023. This means that one peso in 2018 was worth 81 centavos in Dec. 2023.

Meanwhile, Maria Odette Abitan  of the National Economic and Development Authority presented the effect of minimum wage on prices. She discussed the causes of inflation, studies on price effects on minimum wage, and policy implications. (MAWC/PIA-CAR)