TACLOBAN CITY -- The Inflation Rate (IR) in Eastern Visayas slightly eased to 5.0% percent in February 2022. This IR is -0.2 percentage point lower compared with the 5.2% IR in January 2022. This February 2022 IR of the region, however, is 1.1 percentage points higher than the recorded 3.9% IR in the same period last year.

In comparison with the national average IR, the regional IR is higher by 2.0 percentage points than the 3.0% national IR in February 2022.

Among the provinces, Southern Leyte posted the highest IR at 7.1% in February 2022. Leyte’s IR came next at 5.4%, closely followed by Northern Samar at 5.3%. The lowest IR was noted in Biliran at 3.6%. Southern Leyte, Northern Samar, and Samar exhibited higher IRs in February 2022 compared with their figures in January 2022. Southern Leyte registered the biggest increase in IR by 1.4 percentage points, from 5.7% in January 2022 to 7.1% in February 2022. The IR in Northern Samar posted at 5.3% in February 2022 is 1.1 percentage points higher than its 4.2% IR a month ago. Samar recorded 0.3 percentage point increase, pushing its February 2022 IR to 4.4%. On the other hand, the IRs in Eastern Samar and Biliran both recorded -1.0 percentage point decrease, bringing their IRs down to 4.2% and 3.6%, respectively, in February 2022.  Leyte’s IR declined by -0.8 percentage point in February 2022, settling at 5.4%. Meanwhile, IR for Tacloban City, the lone Highly Urbanized City (HUC) in the region, was recorded at 3.6% in February 2022, -0.8 percentage point lower than its 4.4% IR in January 2022.

In February 2022, majority of the commodity groups registered IRs higher than their previous month’s levels. However, these were offset by the decreases noted in the IRs of four (4) commodity groups in February 2022, namely: food and non-alcoholic beverages (-1.7 percentage points); information and communication (-0.4 percentage point); clothing and footwear (-0.3 percentage point); and recreation, sport, and culture (-0.2 percentage point). This resulted to -0.2 percentage point decrease in the overall IR of the region in February 2022.

The financial services commodity group retained its January 2022 IR at 47.0%, registering the highest IR among commodity groups in February 2022. This was followed by transport commodity group (10.1%); housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels commodity group (7.3%); and food and non-alcoholic beverages commodity group (5.5%). All the other commodity groups have IRs lower than the IR for all items recorded at 5.0%.

The transport commodity group registered the biggest increase in IR by 2.7 percentage points, from
7.4% in January 2022 to 10.1% in February 2022. This can be traced to higher double-digit IR in the index for operation of personal transport equipment (33.1%).

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels commodity group recorded 7.3% IR in February 2022, higher by 1.6 percentage points from its 5.7% IR in January 2022. This growth can be attributed to higher IRs in the indices for electricity, gas, and other fuels (21.3%); maintenance, repair, and security of the dwelling (1.3%); and actual rentals for housing (0.7%).

The IR for restaurants and accommodation services slightly picked up by 0.6 percentage points, pushing its IR to 1.6% in February 2022.

Compared with their January 2022 levels, IRs for alcoholic beverages and tobacco commodity group (2.8%) and furnishings, household equipment, and routine maintenance of the house commodity group (0.6%) were higher by 0.3 percentage point and 0.2 percentage point, respectively, in February 2022.

The IRs for health commodity group and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services commodity group both inched up by 0.1 percentage point settling at 1.0% and 0.6%, respectively, in February 2022.

On the other hand, the heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages commodity group registered the biggest decrease in IR by -1.7 percentage points, from 7.2% in January 2022 to 5.5% percent in February 2022. Corn index registered the highest increase of 2.3 percentage points, posting an IR of 2.9% in February 2022 from 0.6% in January 2022. The IR for sugar, confectionery, and desserts index increased to 3.2% in February 2022, 2.1 percentage points higher than its 1.1% IR in January 2022. Prices of flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals index picked up by 1.4% in February 2022 from 0.5% a month ago. Faster IRs were also exhibited in the indices for fruits and nuts (9.3%); rice (5.1%); oils and fats (2.2%); milk, other dairy products, and eggs (1.7%); and non-alcoholic beverages (0.9%). However, these increases were negated by the decreases registered in IRs of three (3) food items. The index for vegetables, tubers, cooking bananas, and pulses exhibited -3.5% deflation in February 2022 from 4.1% IR in January 2022. Fish and other seafood index dropped by -7.3 percentage points from its double-digit IR of 14.9% in January 2022, posting 7.6% IR in February 2022. Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals still registered a double-digit IR but at a slower rate of 16.4% in February 2022, lower by -0.9 percentage point than its level in the previous month. The index for ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified (N.E.C) retained its previous month’s IR at 1.1%.

The IR for information and communication commodity group declined by -0.4 percentage point, from 0.6% in January 2022 to 0.2% in February 2022.

The commodity group of clothing and footwear recorded a -0.3 percentage point decrease from its IR in January 2022, settling at 0.9% during the month in review.

Slower annual price increase was also noted in the recreation, sport, and culture commodity group at 0.3% in February 2022 from 0.5% in January 2022.

Meanwhile, the commodity group of education services still registered zero IR during the month in review.

The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) of the region weakened to P0.88 in February 2022 from P0.89 in January 2022. This PPP implies that the goods and services worth P88 in 2018 is now worth P100 in February 2022.

Compared with their levels in January 2022, PPP in Southern Leyte weakened by P0.02, while PPP in Biliran, Leyte, and Northern Samar reduced by P0.01. The rest of the provinces retained their previous month’s PPP. Eastern Samar recorded the strongest PPP at P0.90, while Samar posted the weakest PPP during the reference month at P0.87.  The PPP in Tacloban City remained at P0.89 in February 2022. (PSA-RSSO VIII)