Manila: The rate of price increases in the Philippines accelerated to 2 percent in January from 1.8 percent in December 2025 due to faster jumps in the prices of electricity, housing, and other fuels, with the latter due to slower declines in the prices of liquified petroleum gas. National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa, in a briefing on Thursday, noted that last month's inflation rate is, however, slower compared to the 2.9 percent recorded in January 2025.
According to Philippines News Agency, core inflation, which excludes volatile items, such as food and oil, posted a faster rate of 2.8 percent from 2.4 percent and 2.6 percent in December and January last year, respectively. Last month's inflation rate is still within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas' (BSP) forecast range of 1.4 percent to 2.2 percent and is at the lower end of the government's 2 percent to 4 percent target band.
Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev) Officer-in-Charge, Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon, in a statement, cited the slower food inflation in the first month of this year at 0.7 percent compared to 1.2 percent in the previous month, saying this is beneficial to all households. "We will continue building on this progress by sustaining efforts to support Filipino families' purchasing power, alongside other reforms that strengthen resilience and promote long-term growth," she said.
The government's inflation target for this and next year is between 2 percent and 4 percent, and authorities have assured that measures, for instance, ensuring an adequate supply of food, such as rice and meat, are in place to sustain a manageable inflation environment. Edillon also noted the faster inflation rate in non-food items, such as housing rentals, from 2.4 percent last December to 2.8 percent, and electricity, from 4.1 percent to 6.5 percent.
She said the Department of Energy (DOE), for one, has several programs, such as the net metering program, to help reduce electricity costs and boost capacity using available power sources in their house or facilities. Under the program, consumers with an available eligible renewable energy system, such as solar panels, may apply for net metering. Their surplus capacity may be transferred to the grid, and they are paid by their distribution utility (DU) in return for reducing the value of the capacity they moved to their power bill.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), meanwhile, has teamed up with distribution utilities and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for the automatic enrollment under the Lifeline Rate Subsidy Program of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries whose household electricity consumption does not exceed 50 kilowatt hours per month. "Rest assured that we are exerting all efforts to strengthen food systems, improve climate resilience, and enhance governance to further support price stability and help sustain economic momentum in the months ahead," Edillon added.
