DUMAGUETE: The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Negros Oriental has successfully registered 125,447 individuals under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) by the end of 2024, covering a broad spectrum of age groups. This significant achievement represents 89 percent of the province’s estimated population of 1.432 million.

According to Philippines News Agency, Engr. Ariel Fortuito, the PSA-Negros Oriental provincial head, highlighted the inclusivity of the registration process, which now extends to newborns as long as their parents are present. The initiative is part of a broader effort to enhance national identification coverage across the province.

In addition to the national ID registration, the PSA in the province completed the Census of Population and Community-Based Monitoring System (PopCen-CBDM) in December. Fortuito emphasized that while they believe the census has comprehensively covered the province, the process of data validation and consolidation is ongoing before the information is submitted to the central office.

Meanwhile, Negros Oriental experienced a notable decrease in its inflation rate throughout 2024. The PSA is scheduled to announce the inflation rate for December and release its final report on January 13. In November, the inflation rate fell to 0.9 percent from 2.0 percent in October, contributing to an average rate of 3.7 percent from January to November. The sectors of housing, electricity, gas, and fuel saw the most significant decline at 73.3 percent, with food and non-alcoholic beverages and health sectors following.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages emerged as the largest contributors to the November decline in inflation, accounting for 94.1 percent of the decrease, along with education services and health sectors contributing 25.7 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively.