SORSOGON, Philippines – The Bicol Region has dislodged the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as the most sluggish regional economy in the country.
In the latest economic performance data presented by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) for 2025, Bicol posted a measly 0.5% gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate while BARMM registered a 5% increase.
Cynthia Perdiz, PSA director for Bicol, said on Thursday, April 23, the dismal figure was largely due to the contraction in the agriculture and industry sectors, as the region remained primarily a service-based economy.
Based on PSA data presented by Perdiz, Western Visayas posted the biggest GDP growth among all regions at 6.4%, while the National Capital Region was at 12th place with 4.35%, lower than the national average of 4.4%.
Except for Bicol, Eastern Visayas (1.0%), Zamboanga Peninsula (2.6%), and Central Visayas (3.7%), all other regions posted growth rates higher than the national average, Perdiz said.
Jazmin Zantua, assistant regional director of the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev), said Bicol’s agriculture sector contracted by 2.9% while the industry sector declined by 6%, a far cry from the 5.1% growth recorded in 2024.
The steep decline in the industry sector was attributed primarily to the 12.9% decrease in the construction sub-sector, which was impacted by the flood-control scandal, Zantua added.
Another sub-sector, manufacturing, also declined by 1.2%. The official attributed this to high electricity costs in the region despite its hosting of two major geothermal power generators: the Bac-Man power plants of the Lopez-led Energy Development Corporation (EDC) in Sorsogon City and the Tiwi Geothermal Plant in Albay, operated by AP Renewables, a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power. – Rappler.com

