Inflation rate of Davao del Norte decreased by 0.6 percentage points (2018=100) in October 2023

1. Inflation in Davao del Norte 

The headline inflation of Davao del Norte decreased by 4.4 percentage points in October 2023 (2.8%) compared to its inflation rate in the same month last year, which was recorded at 7.2 percent. The current inflation rate (2.8%) of the province is lower compared to the headline inflation of the Philippines and Davao Region, which stood at 4.9 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively (Table A).

 The average inflation of Davao del Norte for the year 2023 stood at 3.8 percent (Table B).

2. Contribution to the Inflation 

Table C showed that the October 2023 inflation of Davao del Norte is mostly contributed by the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages (6.6%); transport (5.3%); and alcoholic beverages and tobacco (11.4%).

3. Share to the Trend of Inflation

The decrement in the inflation rate of Davao del Norte can be observed with its downward trend from 3.4 percent in September 2023 to 2.8 percent in October 2023. This decrease is mainly contributed by the downward movement of the index for food and non-alcoholic beverages from a rate of 9.0 percent in September 2023 to 6.6 percent in October 2023. This is followed by the indices of health (from 3.2% to 2.4%), and information and communication (from 0.8% to 0.5%). (Table D). 

Despite the decrease of inflation rate in the province, an upward trend in October 2023 compared to their corresponding rates in September 2023 were observed in Table D for the following commodities: 

 Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco (from 7.9% to 11.4%); 

 Clothing and Footwear (from 3.6% to 5.0%); 

 Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and other Fuels (from -9.1% to -8.7%); 

 Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance (from 4.3% to 4.4%); 

 Transport (from 2.1% to 5.3%); and 

 Personal Care, and Miscellaneous Goods and Services (from 4.6% to 4.7%) 

It can also be observed that the commodities for education services; restaurants and accommodation services; and financial services has shown no sign of increase nor decrease in inflation rate in comparison to their corresponding rates in the last month. The index for food has also shown a downward trend from 9.4 percent in September 2023 to 6.9 percent in October 2023. The downtrend of the food inflation was mostly attributed by the lower annual increase in the price indices of rice; meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals; and fruits and nuts (Table E.)

4. Purchasing Power of Peso 

The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) measures the current value of the peso in reference to its value in the base year. It has an inverse relationship with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which means that if the CPI increases, the PPP decreases. 

Figure 2 showed that the PPP for the province of Davao del Norte increased and was recorded at 0.84 in October 2023. This suggests that Php100.00 in 2018 is currently valued at PhP84.00.

PEPITO D. AMOYEN
Chief Statistical Specialist