BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The city government is preparing for the potential impact of the Negros Island Region (NIR) on its economic and social landscape.
NIR’s creation aims to enhance its regional development and governance efficiency, potentially affecting neighboring areas like Iloilo City in various ways, from trade to infrastructure development.
Mayor Jerry Treñas called for a multi-sectoral meeting recently and tackled the impacts of NIR re-establishment.
Guimaras Gov. JC Rahman Nava, and representatives from the Metro Iloilo Guimaras Economic Development Council (MIGEDC), regional government offices, the business sector, and City Hall department heads attended the meeting.
“I want us all to know how it will impact business and government transactions, among others. I think this is going to be an ongoing process for all of us. Let us start to see how it will impact all of us so that we can be prepared when it happens, so that we can also make some interventions, if necessary,” Treñas told the participants.
On June 13, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed the Negros Island Region Act. The new region will be composed of the provinces of Negros Occidental, including the City of Bacolod, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor.
During the meeting, one of the issues raised was the potential decline in the volume of transactions from clients in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City who mostly go to Iloilo City, where most government offices for Western Visayas are located.
Such would potentially reduce passengers and fast craft movements between Negros and Iloilo; and a decrease in the daytime population, demand for goods and services, and sales of local business establishments.
During the press conference on the summary inflation report on the Consumer Price Index in Western Visayas for May 2024, Miguel Gallego, statistical specialist at the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Region 6, said Bacolod City and Negros Occidental have huge contributions to the overall inflation of Western Visayas.
“Their (Bacolod City and Negros Occidental) separation will certainly have a huge effect on the overall inflation rate of the region,” said Gallego.
Negros Occidental posted a lower inflation rate compared to April 2024, recording the lowest at 4.2 percent.
Two highly urbanized cities in the region recorded upward inflation rates last month. Iloilo City’s monthly inflation rate is 1.3 percent from 0.8 percent in April 2024, while Bacolod City at 4.5 percent from 3.9 percent in April.
Gallego said the exit of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City from the economic basket of Western Visayas will have a huge effect on the region’s overall inflation rate.
Nelida Amolar, PSA-6 officer-in-charge, earlier said the departure of Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City, could reduce the region’s economic performance by almost 40 percent.
Amolar cited the huge contributions of Negros Occidental, particularly Bacolod City, to the region’s economic growth, helping Region 6 achieve a “trillionaire” mark.
Velma Lao, head of the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office (LEDIPO), pointed out that the exclusion of the two LGUs from the regional economic basket will have a huge effect not on the performance but rather on the inflation rate.
“Ma-reduce lang sya but it doesn’t mean we will not perform. It will have an effect not on performance but on inflation. Manubo ang aton inflation rate,” said Lao.
Based on the 2021–2022 figures, Lao said the new region maintains its position as the fastest-growing economy with a growth rate of 10.22, surpassing the region’s growth rate of 9.3 and the current growth rate of 9.26.
Lao also cited Panay and Guimaras’ three major sectors, namely Agriculture Forestry and Fishery, Services, and Industry with the biggest shares of 63.97 percent, 61.59 percent, and 53.61 percent, respectively, in the region’s economy.
“If we do interventions with our respective offices, we can positively maintain the high growth rate of Panay and Guimaras even without Bacolod and Negros Occidental,” said Lao.
She recommended the enhancement of tourism experience or activities (per time segment of the day); leverage of the Iloilo River; and conducting economic activities along Calle Real to bring more foot traffic (coffee shops, night markets, gastro-exhibition activities, among others); and develop more tourism packages or products.
The city government intends to intensify MICE activities and come up with in-migration-like programs for balikbayan or OFW returnees.
“What we are saying is for people to come, visit, stay, do business, and live in Iloilo and Guimaras,” said Lao.
The city government is also pushing for spatial expansion through reclamation projects for more business and investors; strengthening the manufacturing sector and developing the export industry as a pull factor for labor; and building up the agri-aqua production to lessen dependency on NIR.
For his part, City Planning and Development Office head Ronald Cartagena suggested revisiting the importance of the MIGEDC as one strong local economic unit as an agent of growth for the region and the country.
“I think we have to revisit our specialized contribution to the MIGEDC. Sta. Barbara may focus on logistics and others on residential, and also Iloilo can maintain that trade and industry hub and Guimaras as tourism. I think we have to improve on our work on complementarity rather than compete,” said Cartagena.
Engr. Fulbert Woo, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) Iloilo, also encouraged local government units to check on the programs to support micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
“Our LGUs, together with concerned government agencies like DTI and TESDA, can hopefully address the concerns of our MSMEs. Once we address those, I think makahatag siya more figures and more numbers to develop the growth of the MSMEs in Iloilo and Western Visayas,” said Woo./PN
