RECOVERY. Philippine Statistics Authority Eastern Visayas Regional Director Wilma Perante explains the 2022 regional economic growth during a press briefing Thursday (Apr. 27, 2023). The Eastern Visayas economy has grown 6.8 percent in 2022, higher than the previous year’s performance and surpassed the pre-pandemic level. (PNA photo by Sarwell Meniano)
TACLOBAN CITY – The Eastern Visayas economy has posted a 6.8 percent growth in 2022, higher than the previous year’s performance and surpassed the pre-pandemic level, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday.
The performance is higher than the 6 percent growth of the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) recorded in 2021, -7.4 percent in 2020, and its pre-pandemic level of 5.3 percent in 2019.
At a press briefing at the Summit Hotel here, PSA Eastern Visayas Regional Director Wilma Perante said the growth was largely driven by the positive performance of the services and industry sector.
“The total value of goods and services in the region, as measured by the GRDP, increased to PHP492.3 billion in 2022 from PHP461.1 billion in 2021, resulting in PHP31.2 billion economic gains. It is more than the PHP469.3 billion 2019 pre-pandemic level,” Perante said.
The PSA said the services sector, which accounts for 47.2 percent of the regional economy, rose by 10.4 percent last year.
The industry sector, which contributes 40.6 percent to the regional economy, posted a 7.2 percent growth in 2022, lower than the 8 percent growth logged the previous year.
National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Eastern Visayas regional director Meylene Rosales said the region’s robust performance was triggered by the complete lifting of mobility restrictions and revenge spending after pent-up demand at the height of the pandemic as well as election spending.
“Adding optimism to our prospects, the Department of Tourism in Region 8 also reported that, in the same year, we have breached anew the one-million mark in terms of tourist arrivals. We did it already before Covid-19 hit us, but with the pandemic, tourism hugely slumped. Now, we hit again the one-million mark,” Rosales added.
Meanwhile, the agriculture, forestry and fishing (AFF) sector posted a 6.2 percent decline last year from 0.1 percent in 2021. The AFF’s share of the GRDP is only 12.2 percent.
“This overall negative performance of agri-fisheries in the region is primarily attributable to numerous challenges hounding the sector. These include the ill effects of extreme weather events, unusual price spikes of fuel and other farm inputs, and the threat of deadly animal diseases,” Rosales told reporters.
The region’s 2022 GRDP is lower than the 7.6 percent growth at the national level but higher than the performance of Caraga, Mimaropa, Soccsksargen regions and Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
GRDP measures the value of goods and services produced by a region. The figure for all regions sums up the gross domestic product of a country. (PNA)
