DAVAO DEL SUR

1.    Headline Inflation

In April 2025, Davao del Sur’s headline inflation increased to 0.5 percent, as compared from 0.3 percent recorded in March 2025. It was also noted that there was a significant decline in the current inflation as compared to April 2024’s inflation of 7.8 percent. Meanwhile, the province's average inflation rate stood at 1.1 percent. (See Table A and Figure 1).

1.1.    Main Drivers Contributing to the Movement of Headline Inflation

In April 2025, the major contributor to the overall inflation of Davao del Sur was a) Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco at 7.6 percent, from 7.7 percent in the previous month. Also contributing to the province’s headline inflation was b) Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas, and Other Fuels with an inflation rate of 1.2 percent, from 1.7 percent the previous month. The third major contributor was    c) Information and Communication at 7.4 percent, as compared to 6.5 percent in the previous month.

Faster annual increments were recorded in the indices of a) Furnishings, Household Equipment, and Routine Household Maintenance at 3.5 percent from 2.7 percent in March 2025; b) Clothing and Footwear at 2.6 percent, from 2.4 percent in the previous month; c) Health at 2.1 percent, from 1.8 percent in the previous month; and, Food and Non-alcoholic beverages at negative 0.4 percent, from negative 0.8 percent in the previous month.

On the other hand, decreasing movement of prices was observed in the province of the following commodity groups: 

a)    Personal Care and Miscellaneous Goods and Services at 2.7 percent, from 3.1 percent in the previous month;
b)    Recreation, Sport and Culture at 3.8 percent, from 3.9 percent in the previous month; and
c)    Transport at negative 6.1 percent, from negative 5.3 percent in the previous month.

Compared to the annual rates of the previous month, the following commodity group maintained the same rate:

a)    Education Services, 4.9 percent; 
b)    Financial Services, 0.0 percent; and
c)    Restaurant and Accommodation services, 0.7 percent.
 

2.    Food Inflation

Meanwhile, the food inflation rate of Davao del Sur increased from negative 1.0 percent in March 2025 to negative 0.7 percent in April 2025. This was mainly attributed to the increase in inflation of (a) Milk, other dairy products and eggs with 8.0 percent from 5.9 percent in the previous month. It was followed by (b) Oils and fats with 44.1 percent, from 34.5 percent in the previous month. The third food commodity with increasing inflation was (c) Fruits and nuts with 10.2 percent from 5.6 percent in the previous month. Also, (d) Meat and other parts of slaughtered land animals recorded an increase in inflation at 7.9 percent, from 7.8 percent in the previous month. And, (e) Vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses contributed negative 3.7 percent inflation from negative 3.9 percent in the previous month.

In contrast, a decrease in inflation was observed in the following food commodity groups:

•    Cereals and cereal products at negative 12.7 percent, from negative 12.4 percent in the previous month;
•    Fish and other seafood at 5.6 percent from 5.7 percent in the previous month;
•    Sugar, confectionery and desserts at negative 0.4 percent from 1.6 percent in the previous month; and 
•    Ready-made food and other food products at 1.4 percent from 2.2 percent in the previous month; 

3.    Purchasing Power of Peso

The Purchasing Power of Peso (PPP) in Davao del Sur for April 2025 remained at 0.76, same PPP as the previous month, as shown in Figure 2. This means that to buy the same set of goods and services worth Php 100.00 in 2018, Php 131.0 would be needed in April 2025.

Technical Notes:

Consumer Price Index (CPI) - The CPI is an indicator of the change in the average retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services commonly purchased by households relative to a base year.

Inflation Rate (IR) - The inflation rate is the annual rate of change, or the year-on-year change of the CPI expressed in percent. Inflation is interpreted in terms of the declining purchasing power of money.

Headline Inflation - measures changes in the cost of living based on movements in the prices of a specified basket of major commodities. It refers to the annual rate of change or the year-on-year change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Purchasing Power of the Peso (PPP) - The purchasing power of the peso shows how much the peso in the base period is worth in the current period. It is computed as the reciprocal of the CPI for the period under review multiplied by 100.

Approved for Release:

ADELINE G. BATUCAN
(Supervising Statistical Specialist)
Officer-In-Charge
Davao del Sur Provincial Statistical Office