W. Visayas economic growth 2025: Capiz, Antique, Guimaras lead

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

ILOILO CITY — Economic growth accelerated in parts of Western Visayas in 2025, with Capiz, Antique, and Guimaras recording strong expansions that placed three of the region’s provinces among the country’s faster-growing local economies, Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed.

The PSA, in its 2025 Provincial Product Accounts (PPA), reported that Capiz posted the second-fastest economic growth in the country at 8.7 percent, behind Occidental Mindoro, which recorded the fastest growth at 11.2 percent and was the only province or highly urbanized city (HUC) to post double-digit growth.

Antique ranked fourth nationwide with an 8.55 percent growth rate, while Guimaras recorded 7.96 percent growth from its 2024 level.

The three provinces grew faster than the country’s 4.4 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2025, placing them among the provinces and HUCs that outpaced the national economy.

Western Visayas is now composed of five provinces — Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo — following the transfer of Negros Occidental to the Negros Island Region in 2024.

The PSA’s PPA measures the value of final goods and services produced within provinces and HUCs and tracks economic performance at the local level.

The accounts provide local governments, policymakers, and other stakeholders with data on the performance of industries within their respective areas.

They are intended to help assess economic trends, identify growth sectors, and support evidence-based planning and policy decisions.

Nationwide, 76 provinces and 33 HUCs recorded year-on-year economic growth in 2025 compared with their 2024 levels.

Capiz expands trade, agriculture

Capiz’s 8.7 percent growth was a sharp improvement over its 5.0 percent expansion in 2024.

The provincial government on Sunday, Aug. 30, attributed the growth to the continued performance of trade and commerce, agriculture and fisheries, and the expanding services sector.

Wholesale and retail trade contributed the most to the province’s economic growth, according to the provincial government.

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing also remained significant contributors, it added.

Among the notable developments was the increase in Capiz’s aquaculture production value, which rose by 69.9 percent, from PHP 9.49 billion in 2024 to PHP 16.12 billion in 2025.

The provincial government said this reinforced Capiz’s position as a leading aquaculture producer in Western Visayas.

The services sector — which includes trade, transportation, food and accommodation, health, professional services, and other activities — also remained a major component of the provincial economy.

Services was Capiz’s largest major sector in 2024, growing by 6.9 percent.

Capiz’s economy was valued at PHP 79.47 billion in 2023, up from PHP 74.38 billion in 2022, before its 5.0 percent growth in 2024.

“The second place of Capiz is not merely a statistical figure, but a testament to the continuing progress of our economy and people’s lives,” the provincial government said.

“With the efforts of the government, private sector, farmers, fisherfolk, entrepreneurs and every Capisnon, we can turn this continuing growth into a stronger foundation for more opportunities, more stable livelihoods and a more prosperous future,” it added.

Daily Guardian’s review of the PPA data showed that no province or HUC in Western Visayas ranked among the country’s 10 largest local economies from 2022 to 2024.

During that period, the national ranking of largest provincial and HUC economies was dominated by Luzon, with Quezon City, Makati City, and Laguna consistently among the leading economies.

Iloilo, Capiz among top producers

The PSA also identified two Western Visayas provinces as among the country’s leading contributors to agricultural and fisheries production in 2025.

Iloilo continued to rank among the country’s leading agricultural producers, placing eighth among the Top 10 provinces with the highest value of crop production in 2025 at approximately PHP 35.32 billion.

Capiz ranked fourth nationwide in fisheries production value, with output valued at approximately PHP 19.09 billion in 2025.