GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Soccsksargen region’s economy grew by 8.2 percent last year as it rebounded from the sluggish performance of the agriculture and fishing sectors in 2016.
A report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in Region 12 said the area’s economy expanded faster last year, posting the fifth highest growth rate in terms of Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) among the country’s 17 regions and the second in Mindanao.
Lawyer Maqtahar Manulon, PSA-12 regional director, said the total value of goods and services produced in the region last year reached around PHP240.6 billion, a significant leap from PHP213.3 billion in 2016.
“The expansion of the regional economy was driven by the recovery of the Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing (AHFF) sector,” he said in a press conference here on Thursday.
AHFF suffered a major slump in 2016 due to the impact of the El Nino Phenomenon, slowing down the region’s economic growth rate then to 4.9 percent.
From the previous -9.5 percent, the official said AHFF bounced back to 8.7 percent last year as agriculture and forestry rallied from growth rates of -6.8 percent to 8.2 percent and fishing from -20.6 percent to 11.2 percent.
Manulon said the services sector, which is the main driver of the region’s economy, sustained its 7.6 percent growth, with four of its sub-sectors showing improved performances in 2017.
Trade and repairs, and other services specifically recorded higher growths, from 9.4 percent to 9.8 percent, and from 7.4 percent to 8 percent, respectively, he said.
He said public administration and defense grew from 5.6 percent to 6.2 percent, and transportation, storage and communication from 4.5 percent to 6.1 percent.
Financial intermediation expanded by 7.6 percent in 2017 but slower than the 9.9 percent recorded in 2016 while real estate, renting and business activities also decelerated from 8.4 percent to 6.5 percent.
The official said the industry sector posted a growth rate of 8.4 percent last year but was outpaced by the previous 13.1 percent.
Manulon said the deceleration can be attributed to a reversal in growth of the electricity, gas and water supply sub-sector, which dropped to -7 percent from 24.4 percent in 2016.
“This was due to the huge drop in the generation of our geothermal plant and our oil-based power plants. Basically, electricity was affected by the aspect of generation,” he explained.
Manulon said mining and quarrying improved from 7.2 percent to 8 percent while construction managed to expand although “at a slower pace” from 23.9 percent in 2016 to 10.4 percent in 2017.
Manufacturing, which accounts for the bulk of the industry sector, sustained its momentum, surging to 10.3 percent from the previous 8.4 percent.
Arturo Valero, the National Economic and Development Authority Region 12 director, said they expect the region’s economy to further expand this year.
He said the manufacturing sub-sector has been posting increasing production records due to the resurgence of the agriculture and fishing sectors.
The region will also benefit from the construction boom as a result of the full implementation of the national government’s “Build, Build, Build” program.
“Based on the figures now, it’s Region 11 that is the number one economy-wise in Mindanao. But we are already the second in terms of growth,” he said.
In the previous years. Soccsksargen usually come in third in terms of economic performance behind Region 11 (Davao Region) and Region 10 (Northern Mindanao). (PNA)
