ILOILO CITY—The economy of Western Visayas posted a growth of 6.4 percent in 2019.
This was after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) found an increase in the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of the region, which is comprised of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental provinces, as well as the highly urbanized cities of Iloilo and Bacolod.
PSA-6 Acting Regional Director Marlene Aviar said there was a 1.6-percent increase of GRDP for fiscal year 2019. The GRDP for fiscal year 2018 was only pegged at 4.8 percent.
Western Visayas’ GRDP was also higher than the national average of six percent, making it the fourth largest economy outside of the National Capital Region (NCR).
In terms of monetary value, the GRDP of Western Visayas for fiscal year 2019 was P915.3 billion. In comparison, it was only P860.1 billion for fiscal year 2018.
The region’s combined service sector still had the biggest contribution with 62.1 percent of the region’s economy while the industry sector accounted for 21 percent of the region’s economy.
The agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishing (AHFF) registered a share of 16.9 percent.
The top performing sub-industries are agriculture and fishing; manufacturing; financial and insurance; and transportation and storage. The food and industry services also had a strong performance in 2019.
Meanwhile, economic managers are bracing for the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) to the region’s economy for fiscal year 2020.