By PIA-Bohol | 10:15 PM March 15, 2025
For the fourth consecutive month, effects of the price increases especially for the bottom 30 percent income households of the province continue to dip, this time at 0.3 percentage points from its January inflation rate of -1.0.
In fact, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Bohol’s inflation rate for the bottom 30 percent income households is 2.8 percent lower than the national rates and 3.0 percent lower than the regional inflation rate for this group.
Provincial Statistician Jessamyne Anne Alcazaren, during the monthly Inflation Rate Data Dissemination for the month of February 2025, showed that the February 2024 inflation rate for this income group was at 9.8 percent high.
As to the sustained dive of the over-all inflation for the bottom 30 percent income households in Bohol, the PSA credits to the lower year-on-year average growth rate of transport and restaurants and accommodation.
Also contributing to the eased prices for the sectors are the tame movements of the price of alcoholic beverages and tobacco as well as recreation, sport and culture.
But, as to the PSA, the main contributors to the domesticated movement in the overall inflation for the bottom 30% income households in Bohol in February was food and non-alcoholic beverages, which dents so much on the family spending, especially for the bottom 30%.
To this, food inflation for the bottom 30% income households slight rose to -3.3 percent from -3.4 percent in January.
However, with rice posting lower inflation rates at -9.6 percent from -7.4 percent, corn at -14.5 percent for -5.9 percent, meat and other parts of slaughtered animals at 2.4 percent from 2.9 percent, these helped dampen the higher inflation of fish and other seafoods at 4.1 percent in February from -0.9 percent in January.
Culturally, Boholanos strive to have rice on the table and would feel comfortable if the commodity is accessible, not much minding about what goes with it.
With fish and other seafood making quite a stir, vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses also joined in the fray with 1.0 percent inflation in February as against -2.9 percent in January.
Rice and fish, or rice and vegetables are usual Boholano fares, however, the option for meat and other parts of slaughtered animals which stayed at a tamer 2.4 percent from 2.9 percent , plus the option for milk, other dairy products and eggs also proved to be more beneficial with -2.6 percent from -1.3 percent. (RAHC/PIA_7/Bohol)
