The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) experienced a rise in its inflation rate to 1.4% in October 2024, up from 1.2% the previous month, as reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). This increase was predominantly fueled by escalating food prices across all six provinces in the region. During an online briefing, Aldrin Bahit, the chief statistical specialist for PSA-Cordillera, highlighted that despite this rise, CAR maintained the lowest inflation rate outside the National Capital Region (NCR), which stood at 2.3% last month. The year-ago inflation rate for the region was significantly higher at 4.7%. Bahit pointed out that the bottom 30% of income earners faced an inflation rate of 4.5% in October, compared to the regional average of 3.3% across all income groups. These lower-income households allocate over half of their disposable income to food and non-alcoholic beverages, with the remainder spent on essentials like housing, utilities, and personal care items. Bahit suggested cost-saving measures such as opting for chicken or fish over pork and preparing meals at home to mitigate the impact of rising prices. He also noted that the purchasing power of the peso has declined, with a peso from 2018 now equivalent to 80 centavos.
