‘INCLUSIVE GROWTH’: Western Visayas grew fastest in 2025 and poverty nearly halved

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY – Western Visayas’ fastest economic growth in the country in 2025 came with a sharp decline in poverty incidence among families, a development the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Region 6 (DEPDev-6) described as a sign of more inclusive growth.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the proportion of families in Western Visayas living in poverty fell from 9.8% in 2023 to 5.2% in 2025, a statistically significant decrease of 4.6 percentage points.

The decline came even as the average monthly poverty threshold for a family of five in the region rose from PHP 13,801 in 2023 to PHP 14,683 in 2025.

Western Visayas’ economy grew by 8.2% in 2025, reaching PHP 683.44 billion, making it the fastest-growing regional economy in the country that year.

DEPDev-6 Director Arecio Casing Jr. said the drop in poverty was particularly significant against the region’s economic performance.

“We are not only looking at the growth. We grew the fastest among all other regions in the country last year. One aspect to growth is the development concern. One of our major parameters we look at in terms of development is poverty. Is the growth happening across all levels? Does it also include the lowest level of our sector?” he said on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

“Apparently it did in our region. Our poverty decreased coupled with high growth, so that is what we want to see. We do not want to see a region with very high growth but very high poverty,” he said.

DEPDev, formerly the National Economic and Development Authority, is the government’s socioeconomic planning arm and prepares the Regional Development Plan (RDP) that sets the region’s targets.

Casing said the decline in poverty could not be attributed solely to higher household income, pointing instead to government programs and services that expand opportunities and improve access to basic services.

“These are major considerations during the formulation of the Regional Development Plan (RDP), to look at all these targets so each agency will be able to have their baselines in the conduct of their plans and programs,” he said.

Joyalita B. Tigres, chief economic development specialist of DEPDev-6’s Policy Formulation and Planning Division, also said poverty reduction involves more than rising incomes.

“When we say poverty incidence, this is not only increased income among our households or families but, of course, these are the opportunities and the access to service delivery like basic services like education, health and social protection,” Tigres said.

Tigres said all provinces in Western Visayas recorded lower poverty incidence, although the PSA has yet to release the 2025 estimates disaggregated by province and highly urbanized city.

The 2025 figures are the first full-year poverty estimates since Negros Occidental and Bacolod City were carved out of Western Visayas to form the Negros Island Region in 2024, leaving the region with Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Iloilo City.

She also stressed the need to address poverty and inequality in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs), where poverty may remain more pronounced despite the regional improvement.

“Although there is a reduction in the poverty incidence, we cannot say [it is the same], especially the poverty inequality in GIDA sites,” Tigres said.

Tigres said poverty reduction requires coordinated effort among local government units, regional agencies, and other stakeholders, noting that the RDP consolidates the plans of LGUs and regional agencies.

“We are requesting all the stakeholders, especially the LGUs and regional agencies, to do their part,” she said, calling for targeted interventions to address poverty inequality in GIDAs.