THE purchasing power of the Philippine peso has further declined to its lowest level in eight years, with one peso now valued at just P0.073, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Dennis Mapa said Tuesday, May 5, 2026.
In a press conference, Mapa said the purchasing power of peso declines as inflation increases.
Last month, Mapa said the value of P1 dropped to P.75.
The purchasing power of the peso (PPP) measures how much goods and services can be bought with one peso relative to a base year.
A drop in PPP indicates that consumers need to spend more to purchase the same basket of goods, effectively reducing their spending capacity.
The latest figure means that what P1 could buy in the base year can now only purchase about 7.3 centavos worth of goods and services, underscoring the impact of rising inflation on Filipino households.
The announcement comes on the heels of a sharp uptick in inflation, which climbed to 7.2 percent in April 2026, the highest since March 2023.
The surge has been largely driven by higher prices of food, transportation, and utilities, all of which are essential components of household spending. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)