Western visayas: The headline inflation in Western Visayas rose to 3.5 percent in March from 3 percent in February this year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday. The year-to-date inflation from January to March 2026 is at 2.9 percent.
According to Philippines News Agency, PSA Regional Director Nelida Amolar stated at a media conference that the upward trend is driven by high inflation in the transport group, at 11.1 percent, restaurants and accommodation service at 15.7 percent, and food and non-alcoholic beverages at 1.6 percent. In the transport commodity, gasoline and diesel were major contributors, with inflation rates jumping to 21.3 percent and 53.1 percent, respectively, from negative figures in February.
Of the 13 commodity groups, eight recorded higher inflation rates compared to last month. These include alcoholic beverages and tobacco; clothing and footwear; furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance; health; information and communication; recreation, sport and culture; transport; and restaurant and accommodation services. A lower inflation rate was observed in the index of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which decreased to 1.0 percent from 3.5 percent. The indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, education services, financial services, and personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services retained their respective annual growth rates from the previous month.
Amolar noted that Western Visayas ranks as the 11th highest in terms of inflation nationwide. However, the region has the lowest inflation for gasoline and the third lowest for diesel. All provinces in the region experienced an upward inflation rate for March, with Aklan registering the highest at 4.9 percent, up from 3.4 percent, and Guimaras the lowest at 1.6 percent, up from 0.4 percent. Antique saw an increase to 3.1 percent from 3 percent, Capiz rose to 3.3 percent from 1.6 percent, and Iloilo increased to 3.4 percent from 3.8 percent. The highly urbanized city of Iloilo registered a 3.9 percent inflation in March, up from 2.9 percent in the previous month.
