Inflation in Catanduanes has climbed to “alarming” levels, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said, with the 6.3 percent recorded in April 2026 the highest since January 2023 when Russian troops invaded Ukraine.
Last month’s inflation rate, blamed on the US-Israel war against Iran, is more than double the 3.0 percent for March 2026 and just below the 7.8 percent for three years ago.
Surviving the high prices triggered by the spiraling price of fuel since March is even tougher for the bottom 30% income households, the PSA Catanduanes Statistical Field Office reported, as the inflation rate for the sector is at 6.9 percent.
According to Chief Statistical Specialist Anavi F. Camacho, the main sources of acceleration of the April 2026 inflation are Food and Alcoholic Beverages at 6.0 percent or a share of 41.8%, followed by Transport at 14.4 percent inflation rate or a share of 31.7%, and Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels with 5.5 percent or a share in the uptrend of 22.4%.
Among the basic commodities which registered price increases were cereal and cereal products with 8.8 percent, fish and other seafood with 9.3 percent, and vegetables and tubers with 5.5 percent.
The PSA disclosed that the top five contributors to the April inflation rate were rice, gasoline, restaurants and cafes, electricity and LGP.
The retail price of regular milled rice rose from about P50 to P60 per kilo during the period, the PSA report said, while vegetables are mostly imported from the mainland, with transport costs nearly doubling due to higher fuel costs.
On the other hand, fishermen are also impacted by the fuel crisis, as their motorized bancas use gasoline in sailing to traditional fishing grounds.
The pump price of gasoline rose by 45.1 percent while that of diesel increased by 82.5 percent last month.
A typical 11-kg. cylinder of liquified petroleum gas cost P1,500 each, compared to the previous month’s P1,000 or so while electricity became more expensive with an increase of 15.7 percent as the bulk of the island’s consumption was generated by diesel gensets.
Restaurants and other food establishments were forced to increase the prices of their offerings due to effects of higher cost of ingredients, cooking gas and electricity.
Clothing and footwear also recorded high inflation along with alcoholic beverages and tobacco while Health registered lower inflation rate of 1.7 percent.
The report added that Oils and Fats (15.6%) and Milk and Dairy Products and Eggs (0.7%) had higher inflation rates.
During the same month, some major commodity groups were seen to have constant inflation: Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance; Information and Communication; Recreation, Sport and Culture; Restaurants and Accommodation Services; Personal Case and Miscellaneous Goods and Services; Education Services; and Financial Services.
CSS Camacho noted that Sugar, Confectionery and Desserts has faster negative inflation (-3.2% from the previous -2.9%) while Meat and Other Parts of Slaughtered Land Animals showed negative inflation (-4.1% from the previous 0.6%)/
Lower inflation was noted in Fruits and Nuts as well as Ready-made Foods and Other Food Products.
For families in the bottom 30% income households, higher food prices accounted for 51.5% share in the uptrend in inflation, followed by Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels with 25.5% and Transport with 18.8% share.
Rice was also the top contributor to this sector’s inflation rate but unlike that of the all-income households, electricity took second spot, followed by gasoline, restaurants, and LPG.
The PSA bared that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April 2026 is 143.3, meaning that the average household would need an additional P43.30 to afford the same basket of goods and services purchase for P100 in April 2018.
In a comment on the high inflation rate, DOLE Catanduanes Senior Labor Enforcement Officer Danilo Balilo conceded that with even with the recent increase in the daily wage to P455, it does not come close to the P1,200 nationwide living wage needed by a family of five.
“We did not anticipate the fuel crisis and consider its effects in determining the wage increase,” he admitted, adding that even Metro Manila could not match it.
The PSA did not hazard to guess if the inflation rate would rise further this May 2026 but agreed that the erosion of the value of the daily wage has forced two of its security guards to seek better paying jobs elsewhere.