‘HIGHEST IN 3 YEARS’: Guimaras economy soars to 9% in 2022; hits P16 billion in valuation

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

The economy of the island province of Guimaras ballooned to 9.0 percent in 2022, reaching a value of P16.13 billion, even as it grappled with the economic impacts brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday that this figure represents an increase from the 7.7 percent gross domestic product (GDP) recorded in 2021 which is valued at P14.80 billion.

The PSA noted that the economic growth of the province is the “highest in three years.” It can be recalled that the province’s GDP was at -5.1 percent or P13.74 billion in 2020 — the onset of the pandemic.

From 2020, major industries in the province experienced growth such as a meager increase of 0.8 percent in the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector, 10.5 percent in the industry sector, and 14.0 percent expansion in the services sector.

“In terms of the share of the economy in the province, services had the biggest share accounting for 53.0 percent of the total economy of Guimaras,” said PSA-Guimaras Chief Statistical Specialist Nelida Losare.

Losare added that the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector contributed 31.5 percent to the economy, while 15.5 percent from the industry sector.

The PSA also reported that, in 2022, the fastest-growing industries in the province were recorded in other services at 45.0 percent, accommodation and food service activities at 34.2 percent, and transportation and storage at 19.4 percent.

“The figure would show how resilient Guimaras over the years and also the pandemic […] The increase in growth, percentage-wise, is a testament to how resilient the sector is and how Guimaras is recovering from the effects of the pandemic,” Governor JC Rahman Nava said in a press conference during the Provincial Product Accounts of the PSA.

Nava furthered that while the province has a predominantly services-based economy, he hopes to see an increase in the share of the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector, and the industry sector.

“I hope we will increase more on the right side of the graph. Guimaras being so small, I think would be easily expected to have that small contribution among its neighboring provinces,” he added.

Guimaras accounted for 1.7 percent of the 9.3 percent or P955.02 billion GDP of Western Visayas in 2022.

“Nevertheless, the return to normalcy, I think Guimaras is on the right track right now. We are still hopeful about some other sectors or industries that may be promising on our part,” Nava added.

The governor emphasized that the implementation of the envisioned Panay-Guimaras-Negros (PGN) Island Bridges Project will further propel the economy of the province.

The Department of Public Works and Highways previously announced that the construction of the inter-island bridge may be delayed beyond the initial schedule due to the failure of bidding for its detailed engineering design (DED).

The failure in the DED is after the bid price exceeded the allocated loan proceeds and the DPWH’s original contract estimate.