Bacolod City: The January 2025 inflation rate for all income households in Negros Occidental province decreased to 2.7 percent while it expanded to 3.3 percent in Bacolod City, data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday showed. In December, Negros Occidental posted an inflation rate of 3.7 percent while Bacolod City logged 2.4 percent.
According to Philippines News Agency, the main sources of deceleration in Negros Occidental are restaurants and accommodation services, which remained at 9.7 percent, and food and non-alcoholic beverages, which decreased from 2.9 percent in December to 1.4 percent in January. Meanwhile, the major contributors to January inflation in the province include food and non-alcoholic beverages at 1.4 percent, with a 66.3 percent share of overall inflation, and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels at 2.2 percent, contributing 33.7 percent.
On the other hand, Bacolod City experienced an acceleration in inflation, primarily due to food and non-alcoholic beverages, which rose from 1.2 percent in December to 2.9 percent in January. Restaurants and accommodation services also saw an increase from 5.8 percent in December to 7.6 percent in January, contributing 30.1 percent and 19.8 percent to the uptrend in inflation, respectively.
In a press briefing, PSA-Negros Occidental supervising statistical specialist Diesah Biaoco explained that the limited food supply from Negros Occidental following the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon in December may have driven up food prices in Bacolod City. Biaoco noted, "The eruption of Mt. Kanlaon has an effect on the prices in Negros Occidental, although very minimal. It has a bigger effect in Bacolod City."
Biaoco also mentioned that the PSA monitored the implementation of a 60-day price freeze on basic necessities, declared by the Department of Trade and Industry, following the declaration of a state of calamity in Negros Occidental due to the eruption of Mt. Kanlaon. The price freeze ended on February 11. "Our price collectors went around Bacolod City and Negros Occidental. We determined if there were changes in the prices. We saw that the price freeze was observed," she added.
