ATTY. BONIFACIO G. UY
NEDA VIII Regional Director
News Conference on the 2021 Report on the Economic Performance of Eastern Visayas
28 April 2022 | 10:00 AM
National Statistician and Civil Registrar General Dennis S. Mapa, PSA VIII Regional Director Wilma A. Perante, fellow workers in government, partners from the private sector and academe, friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen, maupay nga adlaw!
I’d like to congratulate everyone in Eastern Visayas for achieving a 6.0 percent GRDP growth in 2021, resulting to 13.4 percentage points increase from last year. Let’s give ourselves a pat on the back. This exceptional growth even beat the 5.7 percent national figure. The region also had a greater expansion compared to that of the ten other regions. The recalibrated strategies, which included the shift to granular lockdowns, and the collective action of everyone who got vaccinated and practiced minimum health standards culminated to the safe and gradual reopening of our economy.
The industry and services sectors grew by 8.0 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively, reversing their contractions last year. The 44.0 percent share of the manufacturing subsector contributed to the industry sector gains. Meanwhile, the services sector growth was attributed to the significant expansions in the accommodation and food service activities (83.0 percentage points up from last year) and transportation (45.7 percentage points increase). Moreover, the education subsector posted a 14.0 percentage point gain, proving the positive contributory effect of gradual resumption of face-to-face learning.
The agriculture sector, however, had a minimal growth of 0.1 percent. The presence of the African Swine Fever in January 2021 and the unusual weather disturbances in the second half of the year disrupted the sector.
On the expenditure side, household consumption rose to 10.2 percent, up from the negative 7.9 percent in 2020. We thank everyone for their contribution in reviving the consumer and business confidence. This means more operational establishments, more people employed, more income, and more spending.
We also saw a positive 6.0 percent growth in government expenditure as more Filipinos avail of the stimulus package. Moreover, the construction subsector jumped by 12.3 percent as building activities resumed.
The robust 2021 GRDP performance reveals that indeed we are on the recovery path. We hope to accelerate growth in 2022 with the implementation of Executive Order No. 166, issued on 21 March 2022, or the 10-point policy agenda to hasten and sustain the country’s economic recovery from the pandemic. These are flashed on the slide.
As of April 25, 2.6 million people in Eastern Visayas, representing 67.3 percent of the targeted population, are fully vaccinated. Please let us encourage the rest to be vaccinated so that we can achieve 100 percent fully vaccinated Eastern Visayas. With the shortened interval for booster shots and the expansion of the vaccination program to children aged 5 to 11 years old in 2022, more Filipinos can avail of these life-saving doses. These will enable the safe and full reopening of the economy, allowing more Filipinos to work and earn a living, and restarting all face-to-face learning.
At the national front, we will continue to pursue structural reforms that will make the country more resilient against future crises and solidify our growth prospects.
We’d also like to inform everyone that the Regional Development Council VIII will soon prepare the Eastern Visayas Regional Development Plan 2023-2028, which will be the development blueprint of the region in the next six years. We are gearing up to look beyond the pandemic and prepare for the future by focusing on four key areas, which are smart infrastructure, innovation, regional equity, and climate change, to achieve our long-term vision.
As we recover, let us innovate and be more productive to co-create a society that is better, healthier, and safer than the one we find ourselves in today. Together, we can turn the matatag, maginhawa, at panatag na buhay ambisyon into a reality for everyone.
Damo nga salamat ngan maupay nga adlaw!
