TAGUM CITY — Every October, we celebrate Consumer Welfare Month, a month-long campaign promoting consumer rights, protection, and awareness in the Philippines. But as consumers, we highly doubt that we are being protected or that our consumer rights are being recognized.
This year is not a good year for consumers. Continued increases in fuel prices have resulted in higher prices of food and other commodities. Electricity rates have remained above P10 per kilowatt-hour, a far cry from the time when power rates, especially in Davao City, were in the single digits.
Consider the price of fuel. Based on the data we gathered from the Department of Energy-Mindanao Field Office, in the first week of January, regular gasoline in Davao City was selling at an average of P53 per liter, while diesel was at P52.90. By the end of September, regular gasoline had climbed to P87.70 per liter, while diesel reached P96.90. This means gasoline has become 65.5% more expensive since the start of the year, while diesel has surged by 83.2%.
And fuel is not the only burden on consumers. Davao Region’s average inflation from January to August stood at 6.8%, with prices rising even faster for the country’s poorest households. For the bottom 30% of income households in the region, average inflation during the same period reached 9.0%. By August, their inflation rate had climbed to 12.1%.
Food has been among the biggest sources of this pressure. Food inflation for the bottom 30% of Davao households reached 14.4% in August, while rice inflation reached 31.2%. This means that the food that takes up a larger share of a low-income family’s budget has also been among the fastest-rising costs.
The price of rice tells the story plainly. In the first phase of September, regular-milled rice in Davao Region averaged P53.24 per kilogram, compared with P41.38 per kilogram a year earlier, roughly a 29% increase.
Electricity has likewise become a heavier part of the household budget. From P9.71 per kilowatt-hour in December 2025, Davao Light’s residential rate reached P13.24 per kilowatt-hour in September 2026. Over the same period, Nordeco’s rate rose from P12.70 to P16.15 per kilowatt-hour; Doreco’s from P11.59 to P14.16; and Dasureco’s from P10.18 to P11.99.
In other words, every major distribution utility serving Davao Region is charging more for residential electricity than it did before the year began. Davao Light recorded the largest percentage increase at 36.4%, while Nordeco posted the highest September residential rate at P16.15 per kilowatt-hour.
And then there is transportation.
Effective September 28, the minimum fare for traditional jeepneys increased from P13 to P14, while modern jeepney fares rose from P15 to P17. Taxi flag-down rates also increased from P50 to P65.
The increases may appear small when viewed individually: a peso more for a jeepney ride, a few pesos more for a kilo of rice, or a few centavos or pesos more per kilowatt-hour. But for a family already trying to stretch a limited income across food, electricity, transportation, education, and other daily necessities, these increases accumulate.
The question, therefore, is not simply whether prices have increased. The more important question is: How much more can the ordinary consumer absorb?
– Davao Consumer Movement