DUMAGUETE CITY – The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Negros Oriental province reported on Thursday that 125,447 individuals, covering all age groups, have been registered under the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) as of December 31, 2024.
Engr. Ariel Fortuito, PSA-Negros Oriental provincial head, told the Philippine News Agency that this accounts for 89 percent of the province’s estimated 1.432 million population.
Fortunato said that even newborns are now included in the PhilSys registration process, provided their parents are present during the registration.
The PSA in the province also concluded its Census of Population and Community-Based Monitoring System (PopCen-CBDM) in December.
Fortuito noted that while they believe the census has covered the entire province, data validation and consolidation are underway before submission to the central office.
Meanwhile, Negros Oriental experienced a downward trend in its inflation rate throughout 2024.
The PSA will present the December inflation rate and its final report on January 13.
In November, the inflation rate dropped to 0.9 percent from 2.0 percent in October, contributing to an average inflation rate of 3.7 percent from January to November.
Housing, electricity, gas, and fuel sectors led the deceleration at 73.3 percent, followed by food and non-alcoholic beverages (17 percent) and health (4.7 percent).
For November, food and non-alcoholic beverages were the largest contributors to the inflation downtrend (94.1 percent), alongside education services (25.7 percent) and health (4.2 percent). (PNA)