The headline inflation rate at the provincial level declined to 2.1 percent in  April 2025, or a change of 0.5  percentage points from the inflation rate in the previous month. In the same reference month of the previous year, it was posted at 1.7 percent.  The downtrend of inflation  in April 2025 was mainly driven by the combined deceleration in the indices for selected  commodity groups such as food and non-alcoholic beverages at 3.6 percent, transport at -1.6 percent, and restaurants and accommodation services at -1.2 percent.

Furthermore, lower annual increment was also observed in the inflation rates for the 
personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services at 1.1 percent, and health at 1.4 percent. 

On the other hand, the annual indices of the following commodity groups showed higher 
growth compared to the previous month, as follows: 
• Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 6.0%; 
• Clothing and footwear, 1.1%; 
• Information and communication, 0.3%; and, 
• Recreation, sport and culture, 2.4%. 

Meanwhile, the indices of the following commodity groups maintained compared with the 
annual figures from the previous month, as follows: 
• Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels, 3.0%; 
• Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 2.2%; 
• Education services, 1.1%; and, 
• Financial services, 0.0%.

The province’s food index further decelerated to 3.7 percent in April 2025, from 4.9  percent in the previous month. This was equivalent to a change of 1.2 percentage points. In April 2024, the food inflation rate was lower at 0.2  percent.      

The downtrend in food inflation was mainly due to the deceleration in the indices of fish and other seafood at 8.3 percent, and, meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals at 9.7 percent. 

Furthermore, the annual indices of the following food items exhibited lower growth when 
compared with the annual figure from the previous month, as follows: 
• Rice, -5.1%; 
• Corn, 4.3%; 
• Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products,  and other cereals, -0.5%; 
and, 
• Fruits and nuts, 4.9%. 

On the other hand, the annual indices of the following food items exhibited higher growth 
when compared with the annual figure from the previous month, as follows: 
• Oils and fats, -1.2%; 
• Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, 9.6%; 
• Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 1.7%; and, 
• Ready-made food and other food products N.E.C., 5.2%. 

Meanwhile, the annual index of the Milk, other dairy products and eggs remained the same as the previous month, at 0.6 percent. 

PURCHASING POWER OF PESO 

The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) in Marinduque maintained at PhP 0.75 in April 2025, down from PhP 0.77 in April 2024. As a result, consumers are now able to purchase fewer goods compared to when the PPP was higher. 

TECHNICAL NOTES 

• Consumer Price Index is an indicator of the change in the average prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households relative to a base year.  
• 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.

  • 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 goods and availed services by the households.

  • 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.

• Inflation Rate is the annual rate of change or the year-on-year change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

• Purchasing Power of Peso is a measure of the real value of the peso in a given period relative to a chosen reference period. It is computed by getting the reciprocal of the CPI and multiplying the result by 100

Inflation Rate (reference month, reference year)  
= [(CPI (reference month, reference year) - CPI (reference month, previous year)) / CPI (reference month, previous year)] x 100% 
For example, 
INFLATION RATE (April 2025) = [(CPI (April 2025) - CPI(April 2024)) / CPI(April 2024)] x 100% 
= [(133.1– 130.4) / 130.4] x 100% 
= (2.7 / 130.0) x 100% 
≈ 2.1% 

Approved for Publication: 

(SGD)GEMMA N. OPIS 
Chief Statistical Specialist 
PSA PSO Marinduque