The Regional Development Council in Central Visayas (RDC-7), through its chairman Bohol Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado, bared yesterday on the region being the fastest-growing economy in the Philippines.

He cited as the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) grew at 7.3 percent in 2024.

“The region is now the fastest growing economy in the country,” he said, citing that its GRDP surged to P1.276 trillion last year.

Aumentado also reported that the per capita GDP of P187,520 while the inflation rate has maintained at a manageable 3.2 percent, well within the 2.5 to 4.5 percent target range.

“We focused our collective efforts on the fundamentals: strengthening the region’s economic performance, managing inflation, creating more and better jobs, and reducing poverty across provinces and sectors,” Aumentado said.

The region’s tourism significantly contributed to the region’s GRDP growth, “with accommodation and food services increasing by 14.6 percent, along with strong performances in transport, health and social work services.”

Investment approvals reached P27.96 billion across 22 projects, generating over 3,400 new jobs, with P17 billion of these coming from local investors.

He disclosed that the employment rate achieved at 97.1 percent. While poverty incidence among families dropped dramatically from 22 percent in 2021 to 12.3 percent in 2023.

The region’s infrastructure gains included the construction of the New Dumaguete Airport, Bohol-Panglao International Airport upgrade, Panglao-Tagbilaran Bridge Connector project and the P16.93-billion New Cebu International Container Port in Consolacion, Cebu.

This despite Negros Oriental and Siquijor already with the new Negros Island Region.