Photo from Marhom Ibrahim/BIO
COTABATO CITY—BARMM showed good economic performance in the month of May as it ranked 6th lowest among all regions in the Philippines with a notable inflation rate of 6.1 percent.
This figure marks a significant drop from April’s 6.7 percent, as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-BARMM) on June 22, 2023.
Meanwhile, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) claimed the top spot with the lowest inflation rate of 3.9 percent, followed by the Eastern Visayas Region (Region-VIII) at 4.2 percent, and the Cagayan Valley (Region II) at 4.4 percent. The MIMAROPA Region recorded a slightly higher rate at 7.2 percent.
Notably, the entire Philippines witnessed a decline in headline inflation, settling at 6.1 percent for May 2023, compared to the previous month’s figure of 6.6 percent.
Engr. Akan Tula, the PSA RSSO-BARMM OIC-Regional Director, attributed the region’s inflation increase to the higher annual rise in the index for Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco at 9.5 percent, Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels at 3.6 percent, and Furnishing, Household equipment, routine and maintenance of the house at 4.1 percent.
“The downtrend in the overall inflation during the period of May 2023 was the lower monthly indices of the following commodity groups as compared with their previous month’s inflation rates are Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages at 7.6 percent; Clothing, and Footwear at 3.1 percent; and Transport at 2.8 percent” Engr. Tula said.
Among the provinces in BARMM, Tawi-Tawi recorded the highest inflation rate at 8.4 percent, followed by Basilan at 7.0 percent, Maguindanao at 6.5 percent, Sulu at 5.9 percent, and Lanao Del Sur with the lowest inflation rate at 4.6 percent.
The report also highlighted the commendable achievement of Cotabato City, as it significantly reduced its inflation rate to 4.3 percent in May 2023, compared to April 2023’s rate of 4.9 percent.
“We are delighted to witness a substantial decrease in inflation rates across both the provinces and the city of Cotabato,” added Engr. Tula.
Furthermore, Mr. Edward Donald Eloja, the PSA-BARMM Chief Statistical Specialist, emphasized that any decrease in the inflation rate indicates an improved purchasing power of the Peso, reflecting the positive economic momentum within the region. (Kasan Usop, Jr./BIO)
