Table 1. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates: Philippines, MIMAROPA, and Romblon: 
All Items in Percent (2018=100) 

The headline inflation rate of Romblon slowed down further to 0.7 percent in January 2025, compared to the 0.9 percent computed in the previous month. Compared to the previous year, the inflation rate is also lower than the registered 6.7 percent in January 2024.  

The headline inflation rate of Romblon slowed down further to 0.7 percent in January 2025, compared to the 0.9 percent computed in the previous month. Compared to the previous year, the inflation rate is also lower than the registered 6.7 percent in January 2024. 
  
The inflation trend in January 2025 was primarily brought by the slowing down of the year-on-year growth rate in the indices of the following commodity groups:

    •    Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages, -0.2% (19.2% share to inflation trend)
    •    Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 0.7% (7.7% share to inflation trend)
    •    Clothing and Footwear, 0.2% (5.7% share to inflation trend)
    •    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, 3.8% (49.4% share to inflation trend)
    •    Furnishing, Household Equipment, and Routine Maintenance of the House,    -1.2% (6.4% share to inflation trend)
    •    Health, 0.7% (11.6% share to inflation trend)

On the other hand, the following commodity groups showed acceleration of its year-on-year growth rate:

    •    Transportation, -0.4%
    •    Recreation, Sports and Culture, 2.9%
    •    Financial Services, 0.0%
Meanwhile, Information and Communication (0.1%), Education Services (0.0%), Restaurant and Accommodation Services (4.0%), and Persona Care and Miscellaneous Services  (-0.2%) remained at their previous month’s rate.

In the past 12 months, the highest inflation rate was observed in the month of March 2024 computed at 7.0 percent while the lowest was observed in January 2025 at 0.7 percent (Figure 1).

Figure 1. 1-Year Monthly Inflation Rate of Romblon: February 2024 - January 2025 

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, Retail Price Survey of Commodities

Table 2 shows that the month-on-month price index for all items in the province was computed at 0.5 percent (131.5 to 132.2). It also shows that Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages with 1.0 percent (134.1 to 135.5) and Transportation with 0.1 percent (134.8 to 135.0) are the only commodity groups that registered the positive increment with reference to the price situation in the previous month. The rest showed no movement in the average month-on-month prices.

The average monthly CPI for all income households in the province in January 2025 was recorded at 132.2, increased by 0.7 percent from the price level on the same month of the past year (131.3). 
        
Table 2. Consumer Price Index by Commodity Group for All Income Households (2018=100) 

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, Retail Price Survey of Commodities

Meanwhile, Figure 2 shows the Consumer Price Indices of different commodity groups in January 2025. The commodity group of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco registered 196.1, the highest value of the CPI in the province during the period. It was followed by Restaurant and Accommodation Services (151.0) and Furnishing, Household Equipment, and Routine Maintenance of the House (136.7).

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, Retail Price Survey of Commodities

Purchasing Power of Peso

CPI is further used in the computation of Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP). PPP measures the “true” value of money using a given base year.  

In January 2025, the PPP was calculated to have a value of P0.76 on the average, which means that P1.00 in 2018 is only worth 76 centavos. Also, on the average, an individual needs P132.20, or P32.20 more, to buy the same basket of goods that was worth P100.00 in 2018. 

(SGD) ENGR. JOHNNY F. SOLIS 
Chief Statistical Specialist

TECHNICAL NOTES

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

    •    is an indicator of the change in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services  
    •    commonly purchased by households relative to a base year.  
    •    is widely used in the calculation of the inflation rate and purchasing power of the peso. 
    •    is used to adjust other economic series for price changes. Example, CPI components are used  as deflators for most personal 
      consumption expenditures (PCE) in the calculation of the Gross National Product (GNP).            
    •    is used as basis to adjust wages in labor management contracts as well as pensions and retirement benefits. Thus, increases in 
        wages through collective bargaining agreements use the CPI as one of their bases.  

Inflation Rate (IR) 
    •    interpreted in terms of declining purchasing power of peso.  
    •    is the annual rate of change or the year-on-year change of the CPI expressed in percent. Inflation Rate (reference month, reference year) 
= [(CPI (reference month, reference year) - CPI (reference month, previous year)) / CPI (reference month, previous year)] x 100%
 

Purchasing Power of Peso 
    •    shows how much the peso in the base period is worth in the current period.  
    •    computed as the reciprocal of the CPI for the period under review multiplied by 100. 

Market Basket

    •    is a sample of goods and services, which is meant to represent the totality of all the goods and services purchased by households relative to a base year.

        o    To determine the commodities that will form the market basket for the 2018-based CPI, the Survey of Key Informants (SKI) was conducted in March 2021. The survey, which was conducted nationwide to store managers, sellers or proprietors, obtained information on the most commonly purchased of goods and availed of services by the households.
        o    The commodities in the 2018-based CPI market basket are grouped/classified according to the 2020 Philippine Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (PCOICOP) which is based on the United Nations COICOP. Meanwhile, the commodities in the 2012-based CPI market basket used the 2009 PCOICOP version of classification of commodities.

Base year

    •    is a reference period, usually a year, at which the index number is set to 100. It is the reference point of the index number series. The CPI is rebased from base year 2012 to base year 2018.