The Philippine Statistics Authority’s (PSA) December 2023 inflation report for both Palawan and Puerto Princesa City showed a slower rate as compared to 2022, except for a dramatic increase in the inflation rate for power consumption.
Chief Statistics Specialist for PSA Palawan, Maria Lalaine Rodriguez, noted during the inflation report on Tuesday that Palawan had a slower inflation rate of 4.9%, compared to November 2023’s 5.5% and December 2022’s 9.9%.
Despite this deceleration, Rodriguez mentioned that the inflation rate rose for the commodity group of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels. She remarked that although this is an annual trend for December due to more people staying at home and consuming electricity, this year’s spike was due to different causes.
She confirmed that this year’s inflation rates for the said commodity group increased across the board for both the average and bottom 30% of households (those households with a total income of below P 10,001) in Palawan and Puerto Princesa, due to the Palawan Electric Cooperative’s (PALECO) emergency power supply agreement (EPSA) taking effect the month before.
“Yes, lahat diba kasi nagki-Christmas lights. Kasi consumption, kumbaga may kinuha kami na based sa kilowatt per hour consumption, tapos magkano ang amount, ganoon namin naco-compute ang electricity,” Rodriguez said.
The inflation rate for the said commodity group rose from 2.9% in November 2023 to 4.5% in December 2023 in Palawan. In Puerto Princesa, it went up from 5.9% to 7.5% within the same period.
Despite sudden fluctuations in power consumption, which caused a spike in the inflation rate, the bottom 30% of households in Palawan experienced a reduction in their total inflation, indicating less fluctuation in their overall consumption.
It went to 5.5% in December 2023 from 6.2% in November 2023 last month. It also marked a deceleration from 10.2% in December 2022.
Meanwhile, Puerto Princesa had a marginally higher inflation rate as compared with the previous month (4.8% in December 2023, from November 2023’s 4.3%), but it was a marked improvement from December 2022’s 7.9% rate, showing that the consumption of the average household in Puerto Princesa has stabilized.
PALECO’s EPSA had likewise affected both the average and the bottom 30% in Puerto Princesa, as the inflation rate for the said commodity group rose from 5.9% in November 2023 to 7.5% in December 2023.
The only other commodity group that contributed to the rise of Puerto Princesa’s inflation rate in December 2023 was that of transport, which included fuels for transport equipment along with passenger transport by air and sea.
Transport in Puerto Princesa drastically rose from -4.7% in November 2023 to 0.7% in December 2023. Rodriguez said that, unlike previous months where this commodity group’s inflation rate changed, this was not connected as much to the price of fuel fluctuating, so much as it was attributed to Puerto Princesa being the main terminal and gateway for other places in Palawan.
“Around December, umuuwi yung mga students, kaya kahit hindi nagpapapromo yung mga airlines and ships, madami pa rin ang bumibiyahe,” she said.
Among all the divisions in the MIMAROPA region, Palawan ranked first in December 2023 for having the most decelerated inflation rate, while Puerto Princesa City experienced an accelerated inflation rate during the same period.
MIMAROPA’s performance had also generally been better than the previous year, from 8.9% in December 2022 to 4.8% in November 2023, down to only a 4.4% increase in December 2023.
