The Philippines’ inflation settled at 2.9 percent in January 2025, within the government’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent and the same rate recorded in December 2024, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the steady inflation is a positive indicator of the government’s commitment to ensuring more stable prices in line with the targets of the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023 to 2028.
Data from the PSA showed that faster annual increases were observed in the indices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, 3.8 percent from 3.4 percent; alcoholic beverages and tobacco, 3.5 percent from 3.1 percent; and transport, 1.1 percent from 0.9 percent.
NEDA said while food inflation remained the primary driver of overall inflation, contributing 1.5 percentage points to the total growth rate, it was offset by lower inflation rates in housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels (2.2 percent from 2.9 percent), restaurants and accommodation services (3.2 percent from 3.8 percent), and clothing and footwear (2.3 percent from 2.4 percent).
Rice recorded a year-on-year deflation of -2.3 percent as of January 2025. However, the government continues to take proactive steps to make rice prices more affordable.
The Department of Agriculture (DA), with the endorsement of the National Price Coordinating Council, declared a food security emergency to allow the release and sale of rice buffer stocks from the National Food Authority at lower prices in select Kadiwa ng Pangulo sites.
Balisacan said reducing food inflation remains one of the government’s most pressing priorities. Due to the lingering effects of last year’s consecutive typhoons, food inflation at the national level rose to 4.0 percent in January 2025 from 3.5 percent in December 2024.
The acceleration was primarily driven by the faster inflation rate of vegetables, tubers, plantains, cooking bananas, and pulses, which rose to 21.1 percent from 14.2 percent previously.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration issued an early warning to agencies to remain vigilant about the arrival of typhoons in the first half of the year, noting that four to ten tropical cyclones are expected to develop from February to July 2025.
The DA said it is implementing various interventions to mitigate the impact of La Niña conditions, including the construction and rehabilitation of water management systems, and the provision of agricultural inputs such as submergence-tolerant and early maturing seed varieties, animals, and adoption of diversified farming systems.
The agency has been ramping up its ongoing vaccination campaign against African Swine Fever and working closely with the Food and Drug Administration to expedite the approval of the Avian Influenza vaccine. Efforts are underway to secure P300 million to fund the vaccine testing, which is expected to begin in March 2025.
Meanwhile, Maharlika Investment Corp. (MIC) and Department of Energy expect that the government’s investment in the transmission segment of the power industry will help reduce electricity costs for Filipinos through lower transmission charges.
“President Marcos has emphasized that there should be no room for complacency as we work toward our targets this year and the medium-term,” Balisacan said.
“We remain vigilant and proactive in anticipating and addressing future developments, whether upside or downside risks, unforeseen or otherwise. Resiliency of our agri-food systems will be one of our most important goals to ensure low and stable prices for all Filipinos,” he said.
