Table A. Year-on-Year Inflation Rates, All Items
In Percent
(2018=100)

1. Philippines

The headline inflation in the Philippines increased further to 4.9 percent in April 2022, from 4.0 percent in March 2022. This is the highest recorded inflation since January 2019. Inflation in April 2021 was lower at 4.1 percent. The average inflation for the first four months of the the year stood at 3.7 percent. (Table A and Figure 1)

The increase in the country’s inflation was mainly brought about by the higher annual increase in the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages at 3.8 percent; transport, 13.0 percent; and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 6.9 percent. Also contributing to the uptrend in the overall inflation during the period were the higher annual increments in the indices of the following commodity groups as compared with their previous month’s inflation rates:

a. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 5.9 percent;
b. Clothing and footwear, 2.0 percent;
c. Recreation, sport and culture, 1.6 percent; and
d. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 2.3 percent.

Meanwhile, annual upticks slowed down in the indices of health at 2.4 percent; and restaurants and accommodation services at 2.8 percent.

The rest of the commodity groups either retained their previous month’s inflation rates or had zero percent annual growths. (Tables 5 and 6)

For food index, it increased further by 4.0 percent in April 2022, from 2.8 percent in the previous month. In April 2021, food index was higher by 4.1 percent. (Table 9)

The annual growth rate of the vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas and pulses index went up to 9.2 percent during the month, from -0.1 percent in the previous month. In addition, double-digit growth rate was observed in oils and fats index at 11.7 percent.

The following food groups exhibited higher annual increments during the month:

a. Flour, bread and other bakery products, pasta products, and other cereals, 4.1 percent;
b. Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals, 4.2 percent;
c. Fish and other seafood, 5.0 percent;
d. Milk, other dairy products, and eggs, 1.1 percent;
e. Sugar, confectionery and desserts, 7.3 percent; and
f Ready-made food and other food products n.e.c., 2.9 percent.

On the other hand, the corn index had a lower annual uptick at 27.1 percent. The rice index remained at 1.6 percent inflation, while the fruits and nuts index still registered an annual decline at -4.6 percent respectively. (Table 7)

2. National Capital Region (NCR)

Following the trend at the national level, inflation in NCR rose to 4.4 percent in April 2022, from 3.4 percent in the previous month. In April 2021, inflation in the region was observed at 2.4 percent. (Tables A and 5)

The higher inflation in NCR was primarily influenced by the higher inflation of food and non-alcoholic beverages at 3.4 percent, from 1.5 percent in March 2022.

In addition, faster annual increments were observed in the following commodity groups:

a. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 5.2 percent;
b. Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 6.0 percent;
c. Furnishing, household equipment and routine household maintenance, 3.1 percent;
d. Health, 1.6 percent; and
e. Transport, 12.3 percent.

The rest of the commodity groups either registered lower growth rates or retained their respective previous month’s rates. (Tables 5 and 6)

3. Areas Outside NCR (AONCR)

Similar to the trend at the national level and in NCR, inflation in AONCR increased to 5.1 percent in April 2022, from 4.1 percent in March 2022. In April 2021, inflation in AONCR stood at 4.5 percent. (Tables A and 5)

The uptrend in the inflation in AONCR was mainly due to the higher annual hike in the food and non-alcoholic beverages index at 3.8 percent.

Contributing also to the uptrend in the inflation in AONCR were the higher annual increments registered in the following commodity groups:

a. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 6.0 percent;
b. Housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, 7.2 percent;
c. Transport, 13.2 percent;
d. Information and communication, 0.7 percent;
e. Recreation, sport and culture, 1.8 percent;
f. Restaurants and accommodation services, 2.8 percent; and
g. Personal care, and miscellaneous goods and services, 2.4 percent.

The rest of the commodity groups either had slower annual increases or retained their previous month’s rate. (Tables 5 and 6)

Relative to their annual growth rates in March 2022, all sixteen regions in AONCR registered higher inflation during the month. Among the regions in AONCR, the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) had the highest inflation rate of 6.3 percent, while the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) remained the lowest inflation at 2.1 percent. (Table 6)

Note: CPIs and inflation rates by province and selected city are posted at the PSA website (https://openstat.psa.gov.ph/).

DENNIS S. MAPA, Ph.D.
Undersecretary
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General

See more at the CPI and Inflation Rate main page.