Buying power of peso drops to 75 cents in Iloilo City

The purchasing power of the Philippine peso is now equivalent to only 75 centavos in Iloilo City as of February 2026, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

This means that the value of P1000 in base year 2028, or eight years ago, has decreased to P750 this year.

National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa explained that the local currency’s purchasing power is “inversely related to the inflation rate.”

“When inflation rises, purchasing power falls,” he said.

In Iloilo province, the buying power also weakened, with the value of P1 is now 77 centavos.

This is lower than last January and in February 2025 when P1 in 2018 was computed as only worth 78 centavos and 80 centavos, respectively.

PSA said the peso’s purchasing power is computed as 1 divided by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), multiplied by 100.IMT