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Both the province of Palawan and the highly-urbanized city of Puerto Princesa had lower inflation rates for the month of November 2024 compared to other places in Mimaropa, as stated in a report on Tuesday.
The inflation report, headed by Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Palawan Officer-in-Charge Supervising Statistical Specialist Donna Marie Mobe, saw Palawan’s headline inflation rate of 1.7%, lower when compared to October 2024’s 2.3% and November 2023’s 5.5%, while Puerto Princesa’s headline inflation rate of 3.0% was also lowered compared to October 2024’s 4.0% and November 2023’s 4.3%.
Notably, all the other places in Mimaropa logged a higher inflation rate, which meant that the rate of change of their prices for commodities were rapid and substantial, compared to Palawan and Puerto Princesa that saw slight increases in price for commodities (particularly for pig meat and other food groups), but at a slower rate.
Mobe stated that this lowered rate however, was not reflective of any trend in the past years, nor were there any specific patterns in the past month, as there were a lot of factors that affected the change of prices in one place.
“Iba-iba talaga yung presyo kada lugar, di na natin nakita yung trend ng inflation nila. Pero in Palawan, more on food talaga,” she said.
She said that events such as the incoming holiday season, as well as the high economic movement of November’s multiple sports tournaments in Puerto Princesa, would have also been reflected.
To note, Mobe analyzed the volatile commodity group of Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages, which had individual commodities that were equally split between contributing positively or negatively to the inflation rate.
She said that while Cereal and Cereal Products, Fish and Seafood, and Dairy or Milk Products had slower prices and contributed to deceleration; Meat and Meat Products, Fruits and Nuts, and Vegetables (such as root crops and aromatics) contributed to acceleration of the inflation rate.
“Nagkaroon ng lowered production for meat nung November, lalo na yung pig meat, at ganoon na rin sa mga vegetables tulad ng onions and shallots, kaya mataas yung demand,” Mobe said.
She relayed some points in the November 2024 inflation report that might reflect the additional economic activity particularly in Puerto Princesa, as the city hosted several international and national sporting events.
Specifically, she pointed out that the commodity group of Health and Health Services, which tracked changes in price for both private practitioners as well as public pharmacies, had contributed to the slow down of the inflation rate in Puerto Princesa.
While the price of preventive care services was not completely stable, the rate of change had slowed down for that particular month, which Mobe said could be partially owed to the number of medical exams given during that month.
Another particular marker of the recent sports activities were the large inflation in the commodity group of Transport, jumping at 3.1% more in Puerto Princesa and 4.4% more in Palawan.
Despite the 1.3% difference between the two, the Transport commodity group and its fees were calculated mainly around the price of gasoline and fuels. Gas stations were the same across the province, although most shipments would go towards the ports and terminals of Puerto Princesa City first before distribution.
While gasoline was priced the same across the province, most transportation services in Palawan had to account for the distance, as they used more of the fuel that they buy for the same price.
“Yung Palawan kasi, hindi sinasama yung presyo doon sa Puerto, kaya pag nasa outside ka, mas iba yung presyo ng mga gas. (…) Kaya kada isang sentimo diyan, it matters talaga. Yung rate nila ang talagang iba-iba,” Mobe explained.