Economics of Everyday Life – Why Your Peso Buys Less:
What Bohol’s 7.9℅ Inflation Means for Every Boholano
By Arthur C. Yap
(Former Agriculture Secretary, Former Bohol 3rd District representative, Former Bohol Governor, Murang Kuryente Partylist Representative)
When my children were small, I explained money with a basket. Last August, ₱100 filled a basket with rice, fish, a little cooking oil and other food products. This August in Bohol, the same basket costs about ₱107.90. The basket did not grow. Our ₱100 grew weaker. That is inflation.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that Bohol’s inflation rose to 7.9 percent in August, from 6.7 percent in July and 1.5 percent a year earlier. For more than a year, Bohol prices are going up! This is concerning because the Philippines’ inflation rate was 6.1 percent and in Central Visayas, only Bohol’s inflation climbed in August; Cebu province and its three cities slowed.
What is inside the number
Remember the beginning of this article when I talked about a basket of goods to explain inflation? Well, the inflation rate is the change in the price of that basket of goods which households buy. And what is inside that basket? Food was 3.5 of Bohol’s 7.9 points: rice rose 19.7 percent in a year, fish 15.1 percent. Transport added 2.1 points, up 18 percent against 13.5 percent nationwide. Housing, water, electricity and fuel added 1.2 points.
For our poorest families it is worse. Since the lower income families buy more food with their meager income, Inflation for Bohol’s bottom 30 percent of households reached 9.5 percent!
Why the money in the bank lost value
Some people may say that at least they have money in the bank. Unfortunately they should think again. Since big banks pay about 0.06 percent a year on regular savings, before the 20 percent tax on interest the value of the ₱10,000 deposited a year ago is now just about ₱9,270 last August! In short, your money in the bank lost value. It cannot buy what it used to buy.
The challenges ahead, what the forecasters say
What worries me is that the war in the Middle East will keep oil prices up. That will affect transportation, storage and electricity costs. The World Bank estimates that oil price increases will continue to add points to inflation. The peso also hit a record low of ₱62.565 to the dollar on September 2.
The Bangko Sentral expects inflation to peak in the last quarter of this year, averaging 6.1 percent in 2026 and 5.4 percent in 2027. DepDev assumes 6 to 7 percent for 2026. The Asian Development Bank sees 5.9 percent and warns of a strong El Niño into 2027. The IMF expects rice prices to rise another 20 to 25 percent. Where will Bohol find itself then?
As Christmas nears
We already feel it: OceanJet’s 10 percent fuel surcharge and Tagbilaran’s ₱20 tricycle base fare both took effect on September 21. If the forecasts hold, the noche buena basket will cost more. Families receiving dollars from abroad will see them convert to more pesos but with the increase in prices, even the higher exchange rate may not necessarily buy more food and goods. What about the families who have no remittances? They will carry the full weight of rising prices.
WE CAN STILL HELP OURSELVES
In 2021, PSA counted 19.1 percent of Bohol families as poor; by end of 2022, 14.8 percent. Some provinces that are of the same size as us moved faster. Quezon, about 2 million people, went from 16.3 to 6.9 percent. Isabela, about 1.7 million, went from 15.9 to 8.4. Southern Leyte, our neighbor across the Bohol Sea, went from 16.0 to 7.1. Bohol has about 1.4 million people. PSA’s newest figures show poverty falling in all 18 regions from 2023 to 2025. We can do it!
I share these not as a lesson, only as a mirror. Where Bohol stands today is not where Bohol must stay. But this depends on decisive leadership.
I write this not to alarm anyone, nor to tell anyone what to do. A father tells his children the clouds are coming, so the rain does not catch them by surprise. Ang presyo mosaka pa. Ang Pasko moabot gihapon. Basta magkahiusa ta, ubos sa maayong liderato, makaya ra nato ni.
Sources
• PSA Bohol: Summary Inflation Report, August 2026 (Sept 15, 2026)
• PSA Bohol press releases: bottom 30% inflation, August 2026
• PSA Central Visayas CPI releases
• PSA national Summary Inflation Report, August 2026 (Metro Manila, regions)
• Inquirer: Baguio inflation drops in August, Cordillera steady (PSA-CAR figures)
• Rappler: Inflation cools to 6.1% in August 2026 (diesel +55.7%)
• PesoHub: Savings account rates, updated Sept 8, 2026
• BusinessWorld: August inflation, peso record low
• U.S. EIA Short-Term Energy Outlook, Sept 2026
• World Bank: Philippines Monthly Economic Developments, March 2026
• Context.ph: BSP rate hike and forecasts, Aug 27, 2026
• BusinessMirror: BSP sees inflation peaking in Q4 2026
• Manila Bulletin: DepDev 2026 inflation assumption of 6–7%
• BusinessWorld: ADB Asian Development Outlook, Sept 2026 and ADB press release
• Philstar: IMF Article IV, rice price outlook
• The Bohol Tribune, Sept 20–26, 2026 (OceanJet surcharge, Tagbilaran fare)
• PSA 2023 Full Year Official Poverty Statistics; PSA CALABARZON: Quezon 6.9%; PSA Eastern Visayas: Southern Leyte
• PSA: Poverty declined in all regions, 2023–2025
• Population: PIA/PSA Bohol 1.41 million; PSA Quezon 2024 POPCEN; Isabela 2024 census via Wikipedia