Table 1. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, CAR:
May2024, April 2025 – May 2025 
In Percent (2018=100)

Figure 1. Inflation Rates for All Items, CAR: May 2024 - May 2025 
In Percent (2018=100)

1.    Cordillera Administrative Region

The overall inflation rate for all income households in the region rose to 2.5 percent in May 2025, up from 2.0 percent in April. When compared to May 2024, the region's inflation rate was recorded at 4.4 percent (Table 1 and Figure 1).

1.1 Main Drivers to the Upward Trend of Inflation in Cordillera

Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels primarily influenced the upward trend of the overall inflation of the region. This commodity group posted a 4.4 percent inflation rate in May 2025 from 3.0 percent in April, contributing 68.8 percent to the upward trend of the inflation rate. Moreover, the faster increases in Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, with a 2.6 percent inflation rate from 2.2 percent, including Restaurants and Accommodation Services with 4.1 percent from 3.7 percent, further accelerated the region’s inflation rate by 27.4 percent and 3.0 percent shares, respectively. 

Table 2: Year-on-Year Inflation Rates by Commodity Group, CAR:
May 2024, April 2025 – May 2025 
In Percent (2018=100)

Among the 13 major commodity groups, four posted faster inflation rates:

a.    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 2.6 percent from 2.2 percent; 
b.    Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels, 4.4 percent from 3.0 percent; 
c.    Restaurants and Accommodation Services, 4.1 percent from 3.7 percent; and
d.    Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services, 4.1 percent from 4.0 percent.

On the other hand, two commodity groups posted slower inflation rates:

a.    Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco, 3.0 percent from 3.2 percent; and 
b.    Transport, -1.2 percent from -1.0 percent.

Additionally, seven commodity groups sustained constant inflation rates:

a.    Clothing and Footwear, 0.7 percent;
b.    Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance, 2.3 percent;
c.    Health, 2.4 percent; 
d.    Information and Communication, 0.8 percent;
e.    Recreation, Sport and Culture, 1.3 percent;
f.    Education Services, 0.3 percent; and
g.    Financial Services, 0.0 percent.

1.2 Main Contributors to Cordillera Inflation

In May 2025, the Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels group was the largest contributor to the region’s inflation rate. This commodity group accounted for 41.9 percent of the overall inflation, contributing 1.1 percentage points to the total inflation rate of 2.5 percent. This was followed by:

a.    Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, 37.7 percent share or 0.9 percentage points; and
b.    Restaurants and Accommodation Services, 7.1 percent share or 0.2 percentage points.

2.    Food Inflation in CAR

Food inflation in CAR increased to 2.5 percent in May 2025, up from 2.0 percent in April. This accounted for 34.0 percent of the total inflation rate of 2.5 percent in the region. Compared to May 2024, food inflation was faster at 7.0 percent (Table 3).

2.1 Main Drivers of the Uptrend in Food Inflation

In May 2025, the uptrend in Food Inflation was primarily driven by Vegetables, Tubers, Plantains, Cooking Bananas, and Pulses, with 56.1 percent share. This commodity group recorded an inflation rate of 1.5 percent from -2.6 percent in April 2025.

In addition, faster inflation rates were observed in the following commodity food groups:

a.    Corn, -2.4 percent from -4.3 percent; 
b.    Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 9.8 percent from 8.7 percent; 
c.    Milk, other dairy products and eggs, 2.2 percent from 2.1 percent;
d.    Oils and fats, 2.7 percent from 2.4 percent;
e.    Fruits and nuts, 10.2 percent from 7.5 percent; and
f.    Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses, 1.5 percent from -2.6 percent.

Meanwhile, slower inflation rates were noted in the following food groups during the month:

a.    Rice, -5.6 percent from -4.4 percent; 
b.    Fish and Other Seafood, 5.2 percent from 5.7 percent; 
c.    Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 1.5 percent from 2.0 percent; and
d.  Ready-made food and other food products not elsewhere classified, 4.8 percent from 5.0 percent.

Table 3: Year-on-Year Inflation Rates for Food, CAR: In Percent (2018=100)

2.2 Main Contributors to Cordillera Food Inflation

The top three food groups contributing to the 2.5 percent food inflation during the month of May 2025 were:
a.    Meat and Other Parts of Slaughtered Land Animals, 73.9 percent share or 1.8 percentage points;
b.    Fish and Other Seafood, 28.2 percent share or 0.7 percentage points; and
c.    Fruits and nuts, 23.6 percent or 0.6 percentage points.

3.    Provinces/ Highly Urbanized City (HUC) in CAR

In May 2025, five provinces/HUC in the region posted faster inflation rates. The inflation rates for each province/city were as follows:

a.    Abra, 2.7 percent from 0.6 percent;
b.    Apayao, 0.1 percent from -0.6 percent;
c.    Benguet, 2.1 percent from 1.8 percent; 
d.    Ifugao, 3.7 percent from 2.0; and
e.    Kalinga, 1.7 percent from 1.1 percent.

Meanwhile, among the provinces and HUC, Mountain Province recorded a slower inflation rate in May 2025, with 2.6 percent from 3.0 percent. Additionally, the province of Ifugao posted the highest inflation rate with 3.7 percent, the province of Apayao posted the lowest with 0.1 percent, while Baguio City maintained its inflation rate of 3.2 percent (Table 1).

4.    Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP)

In May 2025, the region's PPP stood at PhP 0.79. This indicates that PhP 100.00 in 2018 had the equivalent value of PhP 79.00 during the reference month. Among the six provinces and one HUC, the City of Baguio recorded a higher PPP than the regional level. This was posted at PhP 0.81.

On the other hand, two areas registered lower PPP values: Ifugao and Mountain Province both at PhP 0.76. Meanwhile, the provinces of Abra, Apayao, and Benguet had a PPP equal to the regional level at PhP 0.79.
________________________________________________________________
Note:
CPI and inflation rates by province and HUCs are available on the PSA website (https://openstat.psa.gov.ph).

(SGD)
VILLAFE P. ALIBUYOG
Regional Director

Designation    Initials    Date
CSS                 AFRB     June ‘25
SuSS               WBM     10 June ‘25
COSW             JPL         09June ‘25

 
Technical Notes

Base Period a reference period, usually a year, at which the index number is set to 100. It is the reference point of the index number series.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) is an indicator of the change in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by an average Filipino household. It shows how much on average, prices of goods and services have increased or decreased from a particular reference period known as base year.

Inflation Rate refers to the annual rate of change or the year-on-year change of the CPI expressed in percent. Inflation is interpreted in terms of the declining purchasing power of money.

Market Basket for CPI purposes, market basket is a term used to refer to a sample of goods and services that are commonly purchased and bought by an average Filipino household.

Philippine Classification of Individual Consumption According to Purpose (PCOICOP) A detailed classification of individual consumption expenditures on goods and services incurred by the three (household, general government, non-profit institutions serving households) of the five institutional sectors (non-financial corporations, financial corporations) of the 1993 and 2008 Systems of National Accounts (SNA). The PCOICOP was patterned after the United Nations COICOP.

Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) shows how much the peso in the base period is worth in the current period. It is computed as the reciprocal of the CPI for the period under review multiplied by 100.

Weight is a value attached to a commodity or group of commodities to indicate the relative importance of that commodity or group of commodities in the market basket.