CEBU, Philippines — The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) policy rate was raised to 5.5 percent on Oct. 22, the fourth hike this year. September inflation accelerated to 7.2 percent, and the Philippine Statistics Authority put second-quarter gross domestic product growth at 2.3 percent, the weakest since 2021. Central Visayas inflation, meanwhile, ran at 8.1 percent