BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – This metropolis located in the western part of the Visayan region proved once again why it is being hailed as a beacon of competitiveness and urbanization in the country.
Iloilo City placed fourth among the 10 provinces and highly urbanized cities outside the National Capital Region (NCR) in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita.
The city posted P306,444 per capita GDP in 2022, according to the Provincial Product Accounts (PPA) involving 16 pilot regions outside NCR released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Monday, March 18.
In a press conference yesterday, Mayor Jerry Treñas said he was delighted by the latest accomplishment reaped by the city.
“We worked very hard for this. We are very happy that Iloilo is not gaining ground. Hopefully, this will continue because we have so many plans for Iloilo City,” said Trenas.
In the economic performance report, Baguio City recorded the highest per capita GDP in 2022 among pilot provinces and highly urbanized cities with P420,016.
It was followed by the City of Cagayan de Oro and the City of Lapu-Lapu, with per capita GDP estimated at P343,936 and P313,039, respectively.
Likewise, the PSA said the top 10 provinces and highly urbanized cities registered per capita GDP higher than the national average of P178,751.
On the other hand, Aklan posted the fastest per capita GDP growth in 2022 at 21.5 percent among all provinces and highly urbanized cities.
Based on the latest PPA results, almost all provinces and highly urbanized cities in the Philippines grew in terms of their per capita GDP in 2022 from their levels in 2021.
The City of Puerto Princesa, City of Tacloban and Nueva Vizcaya followed Aklan with 12.8 percent, 12.1 percent and 12.0 percent annual growths, respectively.
The PSA also said the top 10 provinces and highly urbanized cities recorded growths faster than the national per capita GDP growth rate of 6.2 percent.
Per capita GDP is used as an indicator of the economic performance and standard of living of a place, as it reflects the average income levels and economic activity of its residents.
A city with a high per capita GDP generally indicates a more prosperous economy, where residents have higher levels of income and purchasing power.
This can lead to better quality of life, access to higher-quality goods and services, and overall economic well-being for the population./PN
