TACLOBAN CITY- The inflation rate of the region rose to 2.2 percent in March 2020, according to the report from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-8).
Wilma Perante, PSA regional director, told Leyte Samar Daily Express that the regional inflation rate is 0.3 percentage point lower than the 2.5 percent national average inflation rate of the same month.
Perante reported that Eastern Samar, Southern Leyte, Biliran and Leyte registered higher inflation rates in March compared with their figures in February 2020. Eastern Samar recorded the highest increase of 0.8 percentage point, then rose to 3.1 percent in March from 2.3 percent in February.
On the other hand, Samar registered a 0.8 percentage point decrease as it dropped to 2.3 percent in March from 3.1 percent in February.
Northern Samar eased down to 3.5 percent from 3.6 percent in February but still recorded the highest inflation rate among the provinces in the region.
Southern Leyte, meanwhile, posted the lowest inflation rate among the provinces during the month in review at 1.4 percent.
Perante also reported that majority of the commodity groups in the region exhibited higher inflation rates in March compared with their rates in February.
These include housing, water, gas, electricity and other fuels commodity group which registered the biggest increase of 1.0 percentage point, from 0.9 percent deflation in February 2020 to 0.1 percent inflation in March 2020.
“This increase can be attributed to the inflation recorded in the actual rentals for housing index (7.5 percent); maintenance and repair of the dwelling index (2.6 percent); and water supply and miscellaneous services relating to the dwelling index (0.1 percent) in March 2020. The double-digit deflation rate of 11.0 percent in electricity, gas and other fuels, however, eased the impact of those increases to the overall IR of the commodity group,” Perante said.
Meantime, the PSA director said that the purchasing power of peso (PPP) of the region was recorded at P0.79 in March.
This PPP implies that the goods and services worth P79 in 2012 is worth P100 in March 2020.
All provinces in the region sustained their PPP last month.
Biliran, Leyte and Southern Leyte recorded the strongest PPP at P0.81, followed by Eastern Samar at P0.76 and Samar at P0.74. Northern Samar posted the weakest PPP at P0.73, Perante concluded.
(RESTITUTO A. CAYUBIT)
