TAGBILARAN CITY – “Central Visayas emerged as the fastest-growing economy in the Philippines,” says Bohol Gov. Aris Aumentado in his term-ender State of the Regional address as RDC CHair. This is delivered during the RDC 7 full council meeting held in new Capitol, Tagbilaran City, attended by majority members of the council.
He said that for the second consecutive year, the region’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) surged to ₱1.276 trillion, or 7.3% fr P1.1 trillion growth rate, as the fourth-largest regional economy and the biggest in Visayas and Mindanao.
The services sector at 70% share of the GRDP. This is followed by agriculture. Forestry and fisheries sectors with 5.4% growth. Tourism arrivals hit 7,57,450, or P125.9 billion receipts last year.
Per capita GDP during the same year was at ₱187,520—a 6.2% increase from the previous year. Inflation remained manageable at 3.2 percent, he said.
The council also approved 22 projects worth ₱27.96 billion in investments, ₱17 billion of which were from local investors. These provided over 3,400 new jobs into our communities even as the region’s employment rate improved to 97.1 percent, though underemployment at 8.6 %.
The region’s poverty incidence among families dropped from 22% in 2021 to 12.3% in 2023, the second biggest reduction nationwide. “It’s 138,380 families living better lives and given renewed hope,” he said.
Region 7 was previously composed the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Negros and Siquijor. But after the creation by law of the Negros Island region, only Cebu and Bohol remain as region 7.
This prompted the governor to coin the term “SugBohol,” region in a joint session of both provincial board sometime last year. “SugBohol” is a contraction of Sugbu (Cebu) and Bohol that the governor said will continue to forge a lasting agreement between the duo. (Ric Obedencio)
