Day: April 25, 2024

TACLOBAN CITY: The Eastern Visayas economy posted 6.4 percent growth in 2023, lower than the previous year’s performance but maintained 6 percent-level growth for three consecutive years, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday.

Last year’s performance was lower than the 6.7 percent growth of the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) recorded in 2022, 6 percent in 2021, 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 sectors.

‘The total value of goods and services in the region, as measured by the GRDP, increased to PHP523.56 billion in 2023 from PHP492.18 billion in 2022, resulting in PHP31.38 billion in economic gains,’ Perante said.

The PSA said the services sector, which accounts for 47.7 percent of the regional economy, rose by 7.5 percent last year.

The industry sector, which contributes 40.4
percent to the regional economy, posted 5.8 percent growth in 2023, lower than the 7.2 percent growth recorded the previous year.

National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Eastern Visayas assistant regional director Jam Colas said the region’s 6.4 percent growth is the sixth fastest-growing regional economy nationwide.

‘The region outpaced the national average growth of 5.5 percent. Likewise, this is the first time on record that Eastern Visayas has achieved three consecutive years of growth at 6 percent and above,’ Colas told reporters.

Meanwhile, the agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AFF) sector rebounded to 3.8 percent growth from a 6.2 percent decline in 2022. The AFF’s share of the GRDP is only 11.9 percent.

‘While there is a significant increase, we are not satisfied since there are more things to be done for the sector. The increase is not enough. We must catch up since we are an agriculture region,’ Department of Agriculture Eastern Visayas regional executive director Andrew Orais said.

GR
DP 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.

Source: Philippines News Agency

SOCORRO: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to set up a voting precinct at the Sitio Kapihan in Barangay Sering here for the May 2025 midterm elections.

‘Pinag-aaralan ng Comelec na bakit hindi mag create ng presinto sa Sitio Kapihan. Kung may higit 2,000 na botante, bakit kakailanganin pa pumunta sa bayan kung pwede naman dalhin ang pagboto dito? (The Comelec is studying, ‘why not create a precinct here in Sitio Kapihan?’ If we have more than 2,000 voters, why do they need to go the town proper when we can bring the voting process here),’ Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said in a presser on Thursday on the sidelines of the poll body’s satellite voter registration activity at the community of the members of the Socorro Bayanihan Services Inc. (SBSI).

Garcia said this move would ensure that the community members would be able to vote without going through the hassle of travelling far.

Asked if their plan contradicts the order of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR
) for the community’s residents to relocate, Garcia said this is not among their concerns.

‘Sa atin, ang kapangyarihan ng Comelec siguraduhin lahat makaboto.Walang iiwanan. Isang boses na di nadinig, isang boses na di nadidinig sa isang demokrasya (As for us, the Comelec’s mandate is for to ensure that all will be able to vote. No one would be left behind. You make one voice unheard, you make the whole democracy unheard),” he said.

On April 8, the DENR canceled its agreement with the SBSI for violating the provisions of the tenurial instrument awarded in June 2004, covering 353 hectares in the Siargao Island Protected Landscape and Seascape (SIPLAS) in Surigao del Norte.

Once implemented, the DENR’s order is expected to result in the relocation and resettlement of around 1,425 households based in Sitio Kapihan.

For his part, SBIS president Johann Lasala acknowledged the efforts of the poll body for bringing the registration activity to their areas.

‘Maganda ang ginawa ng Comelec at dinala dito sa amin pa
ra makapag-register (It’s good that the Comelec brought the registration activity here for us to be able to sign up as voters),’ he said.

The area has more than 5,000 residents, almost half of whom are eligible to vote.

On the other hand, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) have assured that the area will be safe and secure come the May 2025 polls.

Source: Philippines News Agency

CALAPAN CITY: Oriental Mindoro – The Mimaropa region’s economy grew to PHP411.4 billion in 2023 from PHP393 billion in 2022, surpassing its pre-pandemic levels, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported Thursday.

In a press briefing here, Leni Rioflorido, director of PSA 4-B (Mimaropa), said the five-province region exceeded its 2019 economic performance with a margin of about PHP24.7 billion.

She disclosed that the industries posting the fastest growth rates were: accommodation and food service activities with 30.9 percent; other services,16 percent; and compulsory social activities, 13.8 percent.

Among the sectors, services grew by 8.8 percent.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing grew by 6.2 percent in 2023 from a 2.4 percent decline in 2022, Rioflorido added.

The region’s total industry posted a 1.8-percent decline in 2023 due to a reduction in mining and quarrying by 18 percent, and manufacturing by 4.9 percent.

‘Despite this decline, Mimaropa still had the third largest share of the total m
ining and quarrying revenues in the country,’ the PSA official pointed out.

Meanwhile, household spending or Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE), which shared 85.8 percent to the regional economy, slowed down to 1.8 percent in 2023 from 8.2 percent growth in 2022.

The per capita household final consumption expenditure in the region slightly grew by 0.7 percent in 2023.

The recorded per capita HFCE, at constant 2018 prices, in the region was PHP107,607, about 21 percent lower than the national level which amounted to PHP136,247.

“The region’s exports of goods and services to (the) rest of the world accounted for the fastest growth among the expenditure items, with 37.4 percent,” Rioflorio said.

HFCE consists of expenditure incurred by resident households on goods or services that are used for the satisfaction of needs or wants.

Source: Philippines News Agency