MARAWI CITY (PIA) — The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) reported an inflation rate of 0.2 percent in February 2025, the second lowest in the country, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) – BARMM said.
This marks a drop from the 1.6 percent inflation in January 2025 and the 5.3 percent rate in February 2024.
PSA-BARMM Regional Director Akan Tula attributed the region’s lower inflation rate to three primary factors: a decrease in the costs of food and non-alcoholic beverages—especially cereals, fish, milk, and dairy products; a reduction in transportation costs, driven by lower passenger service prices; and a decline in housing-related expenses, including lower rental payments for primary residences.
Tula also highlighted the top five contributors to February’s inflation rate, which include restaurants and cafés with full service, rentals, poultry meat, fresh or chilled tomatoes, and electricity from all sources.
When asked about the sustainability of the low inflation rate, Tula explained that the trajectory of inflation is dependent on the price movement of basic commodities. He emphasized that inflation is closely tied to the prices of essential goods, both food and non-food items, and noted that if these prices increase, the inflation rate is likely to follow suit.
In response to questions about whether decreasing transportation costs could offset the impact of rising fuel prices, Tula clarified that inflation is influenced by a wide range of factors beyond just fuel costs. “The inflation rate reflects the cumulative effect of price changes in various basic commodities, and this can have a gradual rather than immediate impact,” he said.
At the provincial level, Tawi-Tawi recorded the lowest inflation rate in BARMM at -2.8 percent, followed by Basilan at -0.9 percent, Maguindanao at 0.4 percent, and Lanao del Sur, which posted the highest inflation rate in the region at 2.1 percent.
The PSA-BARMM report also noted that Cotabato City’s inflation rate dropped to 0.3 percent in February 2025 from 2.1 percent in January 2025.
This decline in the region’s inflation rate reflects the regional government’s sustained efforts to maintain a stable, manageable inflation rate and protect the purchasing power of the Bangsamoro people. (BIO/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur)
