More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
Post-pandemic tourism has caused the Central Visayas to become the fast growing region in the country.
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| https://business.inquirer.net/521182/central-visayas-again-tops-ncr-as-fastest-growing-region |
A dynamic tourism sector that fueled consumption helped Central Visayas remain the fastest-growing region in the country in 2024, beating Metro Manila, which grappled with high inflation and borrowing costs.
Central Visayas, also known as Region VII, saw its economy grow by 7.3 percent in 2024, the highest among the 18 regions in the country, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.
Not only did that rate of economic expansion surpass the national gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.7 percent last year, Central Visayas again outperformed the National Capital Region (NCR), whose economy expanded by 5.59 percent.
Central Visayas became the fastest-growing regional economy in 2023, posting a growth rate of 7.3 percent.
In 2023, Metro Manila’s economic growth slowed to 4.9 percent from 7.2 in 2022.
Among the major sectors in Central Visayas, services grew the fastest that year with 8.3 percent, followed by agriculture, forestry, and fishing with 8 percent, and industry with 4.1 percent.
In terms of economic share, services accounted for 70 percent, with industry and agriculture making up 23.4 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively.
Data from the PSA showed that in 2022, Western Visayas was the fastest-growing region in the Philippines with 9.3 percent, while Central Visayas expanded by 7.6 percent and Metro Manila by 6.4 percent.In 2021, the Calabarzon region (composed of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) was the fastest-growing region in the Philippines with a growth rate of 7.6 percent.
Central Visayas, which covers four provinces, namely Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental and Siquijor, is a popular tourist destination in the country known for its diverse attractions, including stunning beaches, historical landmarks and culture events.
The Department of Tourism said there were 7.52 million tourist arrivals in the region in 2024, a 37.03-percent jump from the previous year, signaling a strong industry rebound.
And that vibrant tourism sector is helping fuel the region’s growth, according to Reinielle Matt Erece, an economist at Oikonomia Advisory & Research Inc.
Dissecting the PSA’s report, accommodation and food service was the fastest-growing industry in Central Visayas after expanding by 14.6 percent.
Erece said a strong tourism sector could explain this performance, as holidaymakers keep hotels and restaurants busy in the region.
That, in turn, helped grease the wheels of the region’s other growth drivers.
Increased tourism is one of the goals of the DOT. What's the breakdown between domestic and international tourists?
The Eastern Visayas has maintained solid post-pandemic growth
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1248450 |
The Eastern Visayas economy demonstrated resilience with a 6.2 percent growth in 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.
During a press briefing held at the Summit Hotel here, PSA-Eastern Visayas Regional chief statistical specialist Mae Almonte attributed the growth primarily to the positive contributions of the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors; the industry sector; and the services sector.
While slightly below the previous year's performance, this marks the fourth consecutive year the region has maintained an economic growth rate of 6 percent or higher.
Last year's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth of 6.2 percent follows rates of 6.3 percent in 2023, 6.4 percent in 2022, 6.7 percent in 2021, and a pre-pandemic level of 5.3 percent in 2019.
“The total value of goods and services produced in the region, as indicated by the GRDP, increased to PHP555.6 billion in 2024 from PHP523.56 billion in 2023, representing an economic gain of PHP32.06 billion,” Almonte said.
The PSA said the services sector, which constitutes the largest share of the regional economy at 48.1 percent, expanded by 7.1 percent in 2024, showing a slight deceleration from the 7.3 percent growth in the preceding year.
The industry sector, contributing 40.2 percent to the regional economy, grew by 5.7 percent, also slightly lower than the 5.8 percent growth recorded in 2023.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Eastern Visayas Regional Director Meylene Rosales highlighted that the region’s 6.2 percent growth positions it as the sixth fastest-growing regional economy nationwide.
“Although this figure is marginally below our 2023 performance by 0.1 percentage point and the Eastern Visayas Regional Development Plan target of 6.5-7.5 percent, it signifies our fourth consecutive year of achieving at least 6.0 percent growth,” Rosales told reporters.
She added the region’s growth surpassed the national average of 5.7 percent for the past year.
This is a mere1/10th of a percentage point lower from 2023 yet 9/10ths points above pre-pandemic levels and is indicates solid growth.
Franchising in the Philippines continues to be a growth industry.
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| https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1248662 |
Food segment is seen to continue driving the country’s franchising industry this year, with an overall revenue growth forecast of about eight to 10 percent to around PHP800 billion, amid the challenging market uncertainties.
Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) chairperson Christopher Lim, at the sidelines of the International Franchise Conference at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City on Thursday, said the revenue growth projection is "a bit more muted but still quite aggressive."
"We do know there's a lot of headwinds around the world. And we don't know where inflation, or, I think, more importantly, interest rates are going,” he said.
Lim said the impact of US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs to Philippine franchise brands in the US market is also expected to be muted as the players have already diversified their supply base.
“If ever they get anything from the Philippines, it would be usually the proprietary sauces and mixes. But the main products, whether it's chicken, potato, you try to source it as close or as local as possible,” he said.
Meanwhile, PFA director Sherill Quintana said there are around 120,000 Filipino franchise outlets to date.
Quintana admitted that the number has not yet returned to the pre-pandemic level of about 200,000 franchise stores.
“Maybe we can do it in three years,” she said.
The franchise sector has created around 2 million direct and indirect jobs and contributed 7.2 percent to the Philippine economy to date.
There are now 80,000 less franchises than before the pandemic but they expect that number to be equal to or surpassed in three years.
Epidemiology, the study of the spread of diseases, is very important to containing diseases and preventing pandemics. Now the DOH and University of the Philippines "have partnered to provide health workers an opportunity to be trained and attain career advancement in field epidemiology."
The Department of Health (DOH) and the University of the Philippines Manila (UP Manila) have partnered to provide health workers an opportunity to be trained and attain career advancement in field epidemiology.
DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa and UP Manila Chancellor Michael Tee signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for the creation of a Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) curriculum.
The MOU allows FETP students to earn a master’s degree in recognition of their training, leading to career growth.
“We saw the true value of the FETP during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their contributions have improved the country’s ability to respond to public health emergencies,” Herbosa said in a news release on Monday.
“By integrating the FETP curriculum with a higher education institution, we are ensuring sustainability and academic excellence,” he added.
The FETP is a two-year training program by the DOH’s Epidemiology Bureau that equips health workers through the “learning by doing” approach.
It includes intensive coursework on epidemiologic methods, public health surveillance, outbreak investigation, scientific communication, and leadership.
It also includes field work where trainees apply their knowledge in conducting epidemiologic studies such as outbreak investigations and field surveys, surveillance system development and evaluation, and planned epidemiologic studies, operational research, and oral or poster presentations in various local and international scientific forums.
“We thank the Secretary of Health for trusting the University of the Philippines Manila, in particular, our College of Public Health, to create a program that will lead to a competent health workforce,” Tee said.
“Together, we are building the foundation for a future less vulnerable to the threat of a devastating pandemic. Our goal will be to prevent the loss of lives and mitigate socio-economic impact through a predict, detect, respond, and recover framework.”
Health professionals holding permanent government posts may apply for the program.
Currently, the program is only recognized as equivalent to a master’s degree within the DOH system for promotion and professional recognition.
Under the MOU, health professionals trained under FETP will receive a master’s degree in Public Health, with a major in Applied Epidemiology.
The MOU also allows collaborative research and discussions on public health strategies between the DOH and UP Manila for faster translation of research into public health policy.
DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa says they only recognized the value of epidemiological training during the pandemic! It's kind of like that time the AFP abandoned urban warfare training because they weren't using it and then the Marawi siege happened.
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