ILOILO CITY – The inflation rate – the increase in prices of basic goods and services – in Western Visayas region jumped 0.4 percent from 2.7 percent in February to 3.1 percent in March.
Nida Amolar, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-6 officer-in-charge and chief statistical specialist, said that the uptick in the inflation rate was mainly due to the increase in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages.
Food inflation was 5.5 percent for March from 4.6 percent in February.

FRESHLY caught fish are sold in a stall at the Iloilo Fish Port in Iloilo City. (Tara Yap)
Other factors were the increase in prices for health services, housing, and water; electricity, gas, and other fuels, and transport.
The inflation rate in all areas in Western Visayas went up except for the province of Capiz.
The island-province of Guimaras had the highest inflation rate in March with 7.2 percent from 5.9 percent in February.
The inflation rate in the regional capital of Iloilo City went up to by 0.3 percent to one percent last March from 0.7 percent in February.
In Antique, the inflation rate was 6.1 percent, 3.8 percent in Aklan, 3.6 percent in Iloilo province, 3.3 percent in Bacolod City, and 2.8 percent in Capiz province.