THE purchasing power of the Philippine peso has significantly weakened over the past eight years, with P1 in 2018 now equivalent to just P0.75 as of March 2026, National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Undersecretary Dennis Mapa said on Tuesday, April 7, 2026.
In a press conference, Mapa said the decline reflects the cumulative impact of inflation over time.
“Yung purchasing power ng piso natin kasi inversely related yan sa inflation rate, kapag tumataas ang inflation, bumababa ang purchasing power,” he said.
“Ang average natin na estimated purchasing power of peso nitong March ay nasa P.75, ang ating base dito ay 2018, yun na ‘yung overall effect ng inflation rate mula 2018 hanggang ngayong March,” he added.
The purchasing power of the peso measures how much goods and services can be bought with P1. A decline to P0.75 means that what P1 could buy in 2018 now costs roughly P1.33 in 2026 or what P1,000 could buy in 2018 now costs roughly around P1,330 in 2026.
The country’s inflation rate ballooned to 4.1 percent in March 2026 due to the series of oil price surge brought about by the conflict in the Middle East. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)