AFTER registering a gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth rate of 6.1 percent last year, Western Visayas is the fifth largest economy in the Philippines outside the National Capital Region (NCR).
This is based on the data presented by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Western Visayas during the press conference on the 2018 Regional Economic Performance of Western Visayas at Grand Xing Imperial Hotel in Iloilo City on Thursday, April 25.
The PSA reported that the region's economy grew during the calendar year 2017 to 2018, compared to 8.6 percent growth in 2016 to 2017.
The region's growth approximates the national average GDP growth rate of 6.2 percent, it said.
Reports further showed that Western Visayas' GRDP amounted to P372.87 billion from P351.38 billion in 2017, or P21.5 billion more in the value of goods and services produced in the region.
The 6.1 percent growth has placed the region as rank number 12 among the 17 regions, excluding the NCR.
But in terms of magnitude or size, Western Visayas remained the fifth largest economy outside NCR, it added.
"This performance demonstrates that the region has firmly laid the groundwork for continued progress in the future, being among the largest regional economies of the country," the statistics agency added.
The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) Region 6, in a statement, said Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishery (AHFF) contributed 17.2 percent of total regional output.
Industry's share was 24.7 percent, while services contributed 58.1 percent, making the region still a service-oriented economy.
Services include transport, storage and communication, trade and repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles and personal and household goods, financial intermediation, real estate, renting and business activities, public administration and defense, compulsory social security and related activities.
Neda Western Visayas said that, overall, the region actually had a slower growth in all sectors like in agriculture which decelerated by 1.4 percent.
The industry sector is almost the same, from 8.7 in 2017 to 8.6 percent in 2018.
The service sector, meanwhile, decreased from 8.5 percent to 7.5 percent, it added.
Neda Western Visayas director Ro-Ann Bacal, who was also present at activity, discussed some of the factors contributing to the GRDP performance of the region.
Bacal said the temporary closure of Boracay Island from April to October 2018 resulted to a decrease in visitors by almost 900,000 which spelled to reduction of customers for hotels and restaurants.
Less customers meant less orders for food items including rice, vegetables, meat, fish, eggs and fruits, among others, as well as pasalubong items.
"Less demand for the products meant less consumption income for affected families," she said, adding that the closure also resulted to foregone revenues from the local government units (LGUs).
Basing only from collections of terminal and environmental fees, at an average daily tourist arrival of 5,941, the LGUs incurred losses worth about P1.93 million per day.
The figure translates to P57.92 million opportunity losses per month, or an estimated P347.52 million during the entire six-month closure.
The loss of this revenues meant that programs and projects that would have been charged to this local fiscal resource were not realized, the regional line agency said.
