CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga — Central Luzon demonstrated economic vibrancy in 2017 fueled by the significant growth of major productive sectors in the region.
Severino Santos, regional director of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said the industry sector is the biggest contributor to the growth, putting Central Luzon among the fastest growing regions in the country.
Santos said the region registered the second fastest economic growth in the country with 9.5 percent gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in 2016.
He said that among the industry subsectors, manufacturing and construction have posted an accelerated growth this year.
Santos said the upward trend in the manufacturing sector resulted in significant growth in exports while in the construction sector which can be attributed to the various infrastructure projects being implemented by the government in the region.
“This generates employment and the increase in the number of employed population in the region contributed to economic growth,” he said.
He also attributed the impressive growth of the regional economy this year to the favorable weather condition throughout the year.
Agriculture
However, the agriculture sector in the region slowed down due to the bird flu outbreak that hit the provinces of Pampanga and Nueva Ecija last August.
An outbreak of H5N6 strain or avian flu was first confirmed in San Luis, Pampanga last August 11. A week later, the occurrence of bird flu was reported in Jaen and San Isidro towns, Nueva Ecija, forcing the authorities to cull more than 600,000 chickens, ducks and quails in the affected areas.
To prevent the spread of the bird flu virus, a quarantine zone was imposed within one kilometer radius and was extended as far as seven kilometers.
The Department of Agriculture imposed a temporary ban against transporting birds and poultry products from Pampanga and Nueva Ecija to other parts of Luzon as well as banned the transfer of live poultry and poultry products from Luzon to Visayas and Mindanao to prevent the spread of the disease.
The bird flu outbreak was officially declared over in September but re-emergence of the virus was reported in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija last November where some 42,000 chickens were culled.
However, the NEDA director said that the bird flu outbreak has minimal effect in the overall agricultural sector.
Santos said the growth in the region’s farm output has cushioned the slowdown in the livestock sub-sector.
Aside from the favorable weather condition that prevailed in the region which resulted in bountiful agricultural harvests, he said the planting of hybrid rice seeds as well as the modern agriculture technology, research and development being offered by the government contributed to the good agricultural output.
Investments and job opportunities
The vibrant economy of the region was also strengthened by the impressive performance of the three freeports in the region, namely Subic, Clark and Freeport Area of Bataan.
In fact, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone was named the “fastest growing free trade zone” by the London-based International Finance Magazine (IFM), a financial market information group.
SBMA chairman and administrator Wilma Eisma said the award recognized the emergence of Subic as a flagship of the Philippine economy and a catalyst of growth in Central Luzon.
To date, the Subic Bay Freeport has a total of more than 126,000 workers employed by a total of 2,897 companies variously engaged in shipbuilding and other marine-related business, tourism, information communications technology, manufacturing and services.
With committed investments surpassing the USD1.4-billion mark in the first quarter of this year, Subic is expected to make more strides in the Philippine economy in the coming years.
Clark Freeport Zone, on the other hand, is considered to be the next economic hub of the Philippines.
At present, there is a total of 107,694 number of workforce employed in 943 locators inside the Clark Freeport.
Clark Development Corporation (CDC) president and chief executive officer Noel Manankil said the employment increase reflects a continuing sound business climate which prompted big companies to expand operations in the Freeport.
Likewise, the CDC’s foreign direct investment commitment in the third quarter of the year alone was PHP1.064 billion, a significant increase from its 2016 figure of PHP79.418 million.
Meanwhile, the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) is known as the one of the fashion manufacturing hubs of the Philippines, as it possesses a budding cluster of companies producing high-end brands of garments, apparel, shoes and accessories.
Foreign investment pledges from FAB in the third quarter of this year alone was pegged at PHP142.194 million, a big surge against its last year’s P7.004 million.
At present, there are 95 locators operating in FAB with more than 30,000 workers in various sectors.
Tourism
Improved infrastructures lead to an increased in tourist arrivals in Central Luzon.
The integration of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and the upgrading and modernization of the Clark International Airport paved the way for an improved and easier travel to and from the Central Luzon provinces which is a come-on for businessmen and tourists.
Data from the Department of Tourism-Region 3 showed 4.1 million tourist arrivals for 2016 with Subic and Clark topping the list of destinations.
The country’s hosting of the 31st ASEAN Summit and Related Meetings also gave a big boost to the tourism industry in the region, particularly the Clark Freeport.
Alex Cauguiran, acting president of Clark International Airport Corporation (CIAC), said the viability of Clark Airport was proven to national and international travelers and other stakeholders with the smooth and safe arrival of the ASEAN leaders and their dialogue partners.
Economic outlook for 2018
The NEDA is confident that 2018 would be another good year for the region’s economy.
Its forecast stemmed from the continuous implementation of the massive infrastructure projects in the region.
Santos said that some PHP50-billion budget was alloted for big tickets projects in Central Luzon next year under the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program which is seen to spur more development in the region.
He said these projects include the new passenger terminal building at the Clark International Airport; Central Luzon Link Expressway; and the Balog-Balog Multi-Purpose Project in Tarlac.
“These are some of the infrastructure projects which will give multiplier effect that could help sustain the vibrant economy of Central Luzon,” he added. (Zorayda Tecson/PNA)
