Manila: Eastern Visayas recorded a 0.5 percent inflation rate in October 2025, slightly higher than the 0.4 percent registered in September, according to a report released Wednesday by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
According to Philippines News Agency, the uptrend was primarily driven by the increase in the inflation rate of the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels commodity group, which rose to 0.7 percent from 0.4 percent in September.
Also contributing to the higher regional inflation were faster price increases in the health commodity group, which posted a 2.6 percent inflation rate in October from 2.3 percent the previous month. The PSA noted that inflation in inpatient care services accelerated from 2.6 percent to 4.6 percent year-on-year.
Mae Almonte, PSA Region 8 chief statistical specialist, stated in a press briefing that the faster inflation rate of alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which climbed to 4 percent in October 2025 from 3.8 percent in September, also contributed to the overall increase in the regional inflation rate.
Three of the region’s six provinces registered higher inflation rates during the month. Samar posted the highest inflation rate at 1.9 percent, up from 0.8 percent in September, largely due to rising food prices in the province. Biliran’s inflation rate increased to 1 percent from 0.5 percent, while Northern Samar’s rate turned positive at 0.2 percent from -0.4 percent in the previous month.
In contrast, Southern Leyte recorded a decrease in inflation, dropping from 0.7 percent in September to 0.1 percent in October. Leyte registered a lower rate at 0.2 percent from 0.5 percent, while Eastern Samar maintained its -0.7 percent inflation rate for the second consecutive month.
Tacloban City, the region’s lone highly urbanized city, saw a slight dip in its inflation rate to 1.2 percent in October from 1.3 percent in September.
The inflation rate represents the annual rate of change – or the year-on-year variation – in the consumer price index. It measures how fast or slow prices are increasing over time. The PSA clarified that a low inflation rate does not necessarily mean that prices of goods are falling. Instead, it indicates that prices continue to rise but at a slower pace.
