Guimaras: The province of Guimaras has recorded a steady increase in inflation, posting a 4.7 percent rate in May this year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday showed. The 4.7 percent rate, up from April's 4.4 percent, was the highest level for Guimaras province for the first five months of 2026, and the highest since May 2025, PSA Guimaras information officer Orlie Tabia said in a virtual presentation on Tuesday.
According to Philippines News Agency, the May inflation resulted in a year-to-date inflation rate of 2.1 percent for the province. "The steady increase in inflation since the start of the year indicates the increase in prices of goods and services that are commonly purchased by households in Guimaras," Tabia said. She mentioned that as prices rise, consumers may need to spend more to purchase the same basket of goods and services. "However, it is important to note that inflation data measures the rate of change in prices and does not directly determine the spending habits of consumers," she added.
The inflation surge was driven by faster increases in food and non-alcoholic beverages, which rose to 3.0 percent from 1.1 percent in April; alcoholic beverages and tobacco at 5.5 percent from 4.7 percent; health at 6.3 percent from 5.8 percent; recreation, sport, and culture at -0.7 percent from -1.1 percent; and personal care and miscellaneous goods and services at 4.9 percent from 4.3 percent.
Five commodity groups posted slower rates: transport at 27.5 percent from 31.2 percent; clothing and footwear at 3.2 percent from 3.3 percent; housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 1.3 percent from 3.3 percent; furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance at 1.2 percent from 1.6 percent; and restaurants and accommodation services at 1.5 percent from 3.8 percent.
Three other commodity groups retained their April inflation rates-information and communication, with 1.8 percent; education services at 0.8 percent; and financial services at 0.0 percent. Despite the reduced inflation in the transport commodity, it remained the top contributor to overall inflation, alongside food and non-alcoholic beverages, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
Transport contributed 43.9 percent or 2.06 percentage points to the province's overall inflation rate; food and non-alcoholic beverages shared 32.3 percent or 1.52 percentage points; and alcoholic beverages and tobacco shared 6.1 percent or 0.29 percentage points. "This indicates that transport prices continued to increase, but at a slower rate compared with the previous month. The commodity group was still largely influenced by higher prices of passenger transport services, particularly passenger transport by sea and inland waterway, as well as fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment such as gasoline," Tabia said.
