LEGAZPI CITY, Aug. 2 (PNA) — Bicol’s regional economy poorly performed last year due to problems arising from natural calamities, high power rates, poor infrastructures, poor investment climate, and under-spending of government agencies, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Bicol regional office said.
The region’s growth rate plunged 4.2 percent in 2014 from 8.1 percent in 2013, or a decline of 3.9-percentage points, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) during a forum on Thursday.
Agnes Espinas, NEDA Bicol regional director, said calamities, high power rates, inadequate infrastructures and low investments are the stumbling block to the region’s economic growth.
According to Espinas, another factor that slumped the region’s economy was the under-spending of the government and delay in the release of public funds for the construction of public works and other projects of government.
Ma. Angelita Cells, Department of Budget and Management (DBM) regional director, even confirmed the report, saying that indeed there was about Php303 billion of unspent fund this year, which has been declared savings due to under-spending of various agencies of the government.
Cells said unspent funds came from the Php2.2 trillion funds released in 2014, of which only Php1.9 trillion was spent by various government agencies.
Espinas, quoting a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report, said Bicol’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) contributed only two percent to the country’s GDP.
Bicol remains to be among the poorest regions in the country with a population of 5.4 million, 42 percent or 2.2 million (four out 10 people) are poor.
The region still faces the big challenge of lack of quality employment to attain regional development.
Investments, which could have provided quality jobs, are hindered by the high cost of doing business and high cost of electricity.
The NEDA official said natural calamities that hit the region pulled down the agriculture sector’s performance, affecting the its economic growth.
Espinas said the decline in the fishery sector was mainly due to Typhoon “Glenda” that hit Bicol in 2014, bad weather condition and frequent gale warnings that prevented fishing operation in the coastal towns in the six Bicol provinces.
She claimed that the slowdown in the agriculture sector affected the region’s total economy as the Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry, and Fishery (AHFF’s) only contributed 0.7 percentage point last year, from 24.4 percent in 2013.
Espinas said the growth in manufacturing was attributed to the higher production of processed food and beverages, the manufacture of cement by Goodfound Cement Corp., in Albay that supplied the requirements for the rehabilitation of Eastern Visayas.
In 2014, 16 million cement bags were produced, generating a total sales of Php3.2 billion.
However, the growth of the Mining, Quarrying and Construction also slowed down and dropped from negative 5.1 percent in 2013 to negative 25 percent in 2014 due to the closure of Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic Project in November 2013, and the decrease in gold ore production by Filminera Resources Corp. in Aroroy, Masbate.
In spite of the slower growth, employment rate increased by 2-percentage points, and underemployment rate decreased by 7 percent compared to 2013.
“For the first time in many years, Bicol was dislodged from the first to third place by Regions 8 and 10 which ranked first and second, respectively, with the highest underemployment rate.” (PNA)