ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) recently announced that the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) recorded a 1.7 percent inflation rate, the second lowest in the country, for October.

PSA reported that the country’s headline inflation rate has slightly risen to 1.9 percent this month, compared to 2.3 percent in September.

PSA said Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR) had the lowest inflation at 1.4 percent, followed by BARMM at 1.7 percent, Ilocos Region at 1.9 percent, while Western Visayas had the highest at 3.9 percent.

PSA-BARMM Director Engr. Akan Tula yesterday said that there are three main reasons for the increase in the inflation rate. These are the higher costs of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels; food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages; and Restaurants and Accommodation Services.

“Specifically, the top five contributors to the acceleration of inflation rate include rentals: restaurants, café, and the like — with full service; fish and other seafood; cereals and cereal products; and personal care,” he said.

Tula explained that the effect of negative inflation or lower prices of products and services would not also good for economists since the consumers will buy the products or services at a much lower price.

“Negative inflation is not good since it will result in a capital loss of the producers or companies (manufacturers) because the price of the commodities will become lower,” Tula stressed.

In the provinces of BARMM, Sulu recorded the highest inflation rate at 3.2 percent, followed by Maguindanao at 2.2 percent, Lanao del Sur at 1.9 percent, Basilan at -0.8 percent, and Tawi-Tawi as the lowest inflation rate at -2.0 percent.

The PSA-BARMM report also mentioned that Cotabato City’s inflation rate has also increased slightly to 3.3 percent this October 2024 compared to the 2.9 percent inflation rate in September 2024.

Tula said the average inflation rate in BARMM from January to October 2024 was recorded at 4.4 percent.