BY DAVE SUAN ALBARADO

Inflation among the poorest households in the province of Bohol accelerated to 10.3 percent in October 2026, outpacing the national rate for the same income group, official data showed.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said prices of goods and services bought by Bohol’s bottom 30 percent of income earners were 10.3 percent higher than a year earlier, up from 9.5 percent in September.

Nationwide, inflation for the poorest 30 percent stood at 9.5 percent in October, up from 9.0 percent the previous month.

Chief Statistical Specialist Jessamyn Anne Alcazaren presented the figures at a press conference on Friday.

Bohol’s overall inflation, covering all households, rose to 8.7 percent from 8.4 percent in September.

That compares with a national headline rate of 7.8 percent, up from 7.2 percent.

The gap between Bohol’s poorest households and the national average for that group is 0.8 percentage points.

For all households, Bohol runs 0.9 points above the national figure.

The wider Central Visayas region fared worse.

Inflation for the region’s poorest households hit 12.5 percent in October, up sharply from 10.1 percent in September, according to the PSA.

FOOD

Food was the biggest driver for Bohol’s poorest families.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages accounted for 64.2 percent of the overall inflation they experienced, the PSA said.

Food inflation for the group reached 12.9 percent in October, from 12.2 percent in September.

Rice, the daily staple for most Filipino households, rose 23.2 percent from a year earlier, compared with 21.1 percent in September.

The PSA said rice made up 69.5 percent of food inflation among the province’s poorest households.

Fish and other seafood accounted for 17.2 percent and vegetables for 5.0 percent.

Rice prices also rose sharply for Bohol households overall, at 21.9 percent.

The PSA data do not measure how families are coping.

But for households living close to the poverty line, steep increases in the price of a staple leave little room to adjust, typically forcing cuts to other spending or a switch to cheaper food.

TRANSPORTATION

Transport was the fastest-rising major cost category.

Transport inflation for Bohol’s poorest households climbed to 25.5 percent in October from 20.3 percent in September, a jump of 5.2 percentage points.

The figure does not mean fares rose 25.5 percent in a single month. It means the transport price index was 25.5 percent above its level in October 2025.

Transport accounted for 18.8 percent of the overall inflation faced by the group, the PSA said.

For all Bohol households, transport inflation was 24.1 percent.

Higher transport costs can ripple through an island province where farm produce, fish and goods must be moved between farms, coastal communities, town markets and commercial centers.

Nationally, transport inflation stood at 20.1 percent in October.

The PSA also reported a consumer price index of 136.8 for Bohol’s bottom 30 percent, using 2018 as the base year of 100.

That means the basket of goods and services bought by those households costs 36.8 percent more than it did in 2018. It is a cumulative measure, not a monthly or annual rate.

In practical terms, P100 pesos at 2018 prices would buy about 73 pesos’ worth of the same basket today.

Even if inflation slows in coming months, prices will not fall back to earlier levels unless they actually decline.

Tourism

Restaurants and accommodation services recorded 13.4 percent inflation for the poorest households, unchanged from September.

That category contributed 9.0 percent of the overall inflation faced by the group, the PSA said.

The data do not show whether wages for tourism and service workers have kept pace with living costs.

NATION

The Philippines has among the highest inflation rates in Southeast Asia, based on the latest official data from national statistics agencies and central banks.

Its 7.8 percent rate for October 2026 was just ahead of Laos, at 7.7 percent. Vietnam recorded 5.09 percent, Thailand 3.90 percent and Indonesia 3.23 percent for October.

Singapore and Malaysia had not released October figures as of Saturday. Their latest readings, for September, were 2.2 percent and 1.8 percent respectively.

The comparison is therefore not for a single month across all countries, and does not cover the whole of Southeast Asia.

Nationally, food and non-alcoholic beverages contributed 30.2 percent of headline inflation in October, followed by housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels at 24.8 percent and transport at 23.5 percent. Housing and utilities inflation stood at 9.3 percent.

Average headline inflation for January to October was 5.6 percent.

For the poorest 30 percent of households, the average was 6.8 percent.

In both Bohol and the country as a whole, the poorest households face higher inflation than the average household.

In Bohol, the gap between the two measures is 1.6 percentage points. Nationally, it is 1.7 points.

That is because the poorest families spend a larger share of their income on necessities such as food, transport, electricity and water, and have less savings to cushion price increases.

The PSA figures show price levels, not poverty rates, and do not say how many families have fallen below the poverty line.