Photo of Benguet salad vegetables shipped to Manila by Vincent Cabreza
BAGUIO CITY — Spikes in household expenses for rice, LPG and their monthly power bills accelerated July inflation in the summer capital and the food-producing Cordillera region to 6.8 percent.
That reversed a downward trend from the peak 7.6 percent inflation rate in April, a lower 7 percent rate in May and 6.5 percent in June, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported in a briefing on Thursday, Aug. 13.
Baguio, a Luzon tourism and education hub, also suffered higher inflation last month with 6.9 percent, up from 6.7 percent in June, said Villafe Alibuyog, PSA regional director for the Cordillera.
High college tuition helped drive up Baguio inflation, as reflected by the 10.1 percent inflation rate for tertiary education in July from 8.3 percent in June, said Imelda Buyuccan, chief statistician for Benguet.
Like the rest of the country, Baguio and the provinces of Ifugao, Kalinga, Abra, Benguet, Apayao and Mountain Province have seen commodity prices increase dramatically due to the world oil shocks ignited by the war on Iran.
July was also the month when a ceasefire between Iran and the United States broke down over disruptions in shipping travel through the Strait of Hormuz which continues to block the transit of oil and vital shipments to regions like Southeast Asia.
But while transport remains a key driver for the hike in July, Cordillera gas inflation actually slowed down: diesel dropped to 30.1 percent inflation last month from 33.4 percent in June, while gas inflation was 35.5 percent in July down from 40.2 percent in June.
Baguio diesel inflation, however, rose to 29.7 percent in July from 25.8 percent in June. Historically, pump prices in this tourist haunt have been more expensive than neighboring towns in northern Luzon.
Baguio terrain, the cold climate and high fuel costs made biking a popular form of transport while inner city traffic jams led to a demand for motorcycles. But these alternative modes of travel were also hit with high inflation: bicycles had an inflation rate of 11.7 percent in July from 5.7 percent in June, while motorcycles drew an inflation rate of 5.5 percent in July from 3.1 percent in June.
The increase of rice prices in July brought up rice inflation to 9 percent in July from a 7.5 percent rate in June.
The escalating price of this staple grain was common to many highland communities. In Baguio, the July inflation for cereals and cereal products was 8.2 percent in July, compared to 6.9 percent in June.
High utility expenses (15.3 percent inflation rate for electricity in July from 4.5 in June), and expensive vegetables and tubers like tomatoes (9.9 percent rate in July from 5.4 percent in June) round up the month’s chief contributors to July inflation.
Ifugao, home of the rice terraces, had the lowest July inflation (4.4 percent in July from 3.7 in June. Apayao, a biosphere reserve, generated the highest inflation (15.2 percent in July from 15 percent in June). INQ /mr