Table A. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, 
for the Bottom 30% Income Household, All Items
In Percent
(2018=100)

A.    Zamboanga Peninsula

1.    Inflation Rate for the Bottom 30% Income Households

The inflation rate in Zamboanga Peninsula for the bottom 30% income households decreased further at a rate of 1.8 percent in December 2024 from 2.0 November 2024. This brings the region’s average inflation from January to December 2024 to 4.3 percent. In December 2023, inflation rate posted 5.9 percent. (Table A and Figure 1)

1.1  Main Drivers Behind the Downward Trend in the Inflation Rate for the Bottom 30% Income Households:

This month’s lower inflation rate was primarily influenced by the year-on-year inflation in the index of Food and Non-alcoholic Beverages which stood at 0.0 percent inflation in December 2024 from 1.0 percent in November 2024.

In contrast, the following commodity groups posted higher annual increments as compared with their previous month’s inflation rates:

1)    Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 8.9 percent from 8.7 percent;
2)    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, 6.5 percent from 5.6 percent;
3)    Furnishings, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 3.7 percent from 3.6 percent;
4)    Health, 3.5 percent from 3.3 percent;
5)    Transport, 1.6 percent from (1.8) percent;
6)    Recreation, sport and culture, 8.4 percent from 8.3 percent;
7)    Restaurants and accommodation services, 5.9 percent from 5.3 percent; and
8)    Personal care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services at 3.0 percent from 2.9 percent.

Moreover, the following commodity groups retained their inflation rates during the month:

1)    Education services, 4.9 percent;
2)    Information and communication, 03 percent;
3)    Clothing and footwear, 1.0 percent; and
4)    Financial services, (0.2) percent.

2.2 Main Contributors to the Inflation Rates for the Bottom 30% Income Households:

The following commodity groups were the top three contributors to the December 2024 overall inflation for the bottom 30% income households:

1)    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, 37.9 percent share or 0.86 percent;
2)    Restaurants and accommodation services, 14.5 percent share or 0.26 percentage point; and
3)    Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 11.9 percent share or 0.21 percentage point.

Table B. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for the Bottom 30% Income Households 
in Zamboanga Peninsula, All items in Percent
January 2020 to December 2024
(2018=100)

Inflation Rate by Commodity Group for the Bottom 30% Income Households in
ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA 2018=100

 Food Inflation

The Food inflation for the bottom 30% Income Households in Zamboanga Peninsula decelerated to (0.3) percent in December 2024 from 0.8 percent in November 2024. Meanwhile, the food inflation in December 2023 was higher at 9.7 percent.

2.1 Main Drivers to the Downward Trend of the Food Inflation for the Bottom 30% Income Households

The deceleration in the food inflation was mainly due to the slower increase in the index of Cereals and Cereal Products which posted (2.5) percent from 1.1 percent. Moreover, the categories of Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses (ND) and Milk, other dairy products and eggs (ND) also contributed to the downtrend which stood at 0.7 percent from 4.8 percent, and 2.5 percent from 3.3 percent, respectively.

In addition, slower increments were also observed in the indices of Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals (ND) which posted 2.0 percent from 2.4 percent in the previous month, and Ready-made food and other food products n.e.c. (ND) which posted 4.3 percent from 5.1 percent in the previous month.

In contrast, the following food groups were observed to have accelerated faster during the month:

1)    Fruits and Nuts (ND), 15.5 percent from 14.2 percent;
2)    Fish and other seafood (ND), (1.0) percent from (5.1) percent;
3)    Oils and fats (ND), (0.9) percent from (1.3) percent;
4)    Sugar, Confectionery and Desserts (ND), (3.8) percent from (5.6) percent;

2.2 Main Contributors to the Food Inflation for the Bottom 30% Income Households:

Food Inflation contributed 19.3 percent share or 0.37 percentage points to the September 2024 for the Bottom 30% Income Households. Among the food groups, the main contributors to the food inflation during the month were the following:

1)    Cereals and cereal products, with 225.1 percent share or (0.68) percentage point;
2)    Fruits and nuts (ND) with 36.9 percent share or (0.11) percentage point; and
3)    Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses (ND), 17.1 percent share or (0.05) percentage point.

Among the provinces in the region, Zamboanga City and City of Isabela both had the highest inflation for the bottom 30% income households with 3.2 percent inflation, followed by Zamboanga Sibugay with 2.2 percent, then Zamboanga del Norte with 1.1 percent. Zamboanga del Sur recorded to have the lowest inflation rate at 0.9 percent.

Note: CPIs and inflation rates for the bottom 30% income households by region and by province and selected city are posted at the PSA website (http://openstat.psa.gov.ph/).

MEWCHUN WS. PAMARAN
Regional Director

GBS/ajdc