Photo by Comenei Ali/BIO
COTABATO CITY—The Bangsamoro region’s economy grew at a 6.6 percent rate in 2022, and reported the tenth-fastest economic growth among all 17 regions in the Philippines, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-BARMM) said during its dissemination forum on Wednesday, April 27, 2023.
Indicating robustness and resiliency, this economic performance of BARMM is based on the final estimation of the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) and Gross Regional Domestic Expenditure (GRDE) for the year 2022.
The GRDP is the aggregate of Gross Value Added (GVA) of all resident producer units under the Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry, and Fishing (AFF); Industry; and Service Sectors in the region, while GRDE is the expenditure of residents of the region in the domestic territory plus their expenditure in other regions including the rest of the world.
PSA-BARMM Regional Director Engr. Akan Tula reported that AFF increased to 3.5 percent, Industry increased to 6.1 percent, and Services Sector increased to 9.8 percent.
“The economic performance of BARMM grew by 6.6 percent in 2022 though slower than the previous year’s growth rate at 7.5 percent but still increased which indicates good economic performance of the region,” Tula said.
“This means that in 2022, BARMM’s per capita household final consumption expenditure was estimated at Php56,970.00, higher by 4.5 percent than the previous year’s level which was estimated at Php54,528.00,” he added.
PSA Undersecretary Dr. Claire Dennis Mapa emphasized that the goal of the GRDP and GRDE is to provide the policy-makers and stakeholders with a comprehensive picture of the regional economies which will serve as an important tool for planning and policy formulation at the regional level.
“This GRDP and GRDE are major important indicators that will bring change to the lives of our countrymen through its impact from the results of plans and policies that might be crafted from these indicators,” Mapa said.
Director Melanie Indar, speaking on behalf of BPDA Bangsamoro Director General Engr. Mohajirin Ali, expressed that although the growth has slowed down, still BARMM’s economy was on track for robust growth.
“Despite this setback, BARMM has emerged as the 10th fastest-growing region in the country, which is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the region’s resilience and hard work,” Indar said.
“In the 6-year 2nd Bangsamoro Development Plan, the Bangsamoro Government is committed to achieving our goals and macro-economics target set in the plan by sustaining an average annual growth of 8 to 9 percent within 6 years, and creating more opportunities for the people in BARMM,” she added.
Meanwhile, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Cotabato Branch Acting Bank Officer IV Jherus de Guia mentioned that the economic performance of BARMM is boosting and gaining momentum.
“Hopefully, there would also be an improvement in the internet connectivity in the region in order to provide direction of the cash-light economy program which is supported by BSP,” Guia stressed. (Kasan Usop, Jr./BIO)
