GAINING GROUND. Iloilo City ranked fourth among highly urbanized cities outside of the National Capital Region based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s first-ever Provincial Product Accounts for 2022, results of which were released on Monday (March 18, 2024). Mayor Jerry Treñas, in an interview Tuesday, said he wanted the gains of the city sustained. (PNA file photo)
ILOILO CITY – The local government here is hoping to sustain its gains after placing fourth among the pilot highly urbanized cities (HUCs) outside of the National Capital Region (NCR) based on the results of the Provincial Product Accounts (PPA) for 2022.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in a special release on Monday, said Iloilo City's per capita gross domestic product (GDP), or the average contribution of individuals to an economy’s output for a certain period, in the first-ever PPA stood at PHP306,444, higher than the national average of PHP178,751.
“We worked very hard for that and it showed in the result. We are very happy that Iloilo City is gaining ground… Hopefully, this will continue because we have so many plans for Iloilo City,” Mayor Jerry Treñas said in an interview Tuesday.
Iloilo City followed the cities of Baguio, Cagayan de Oro and Lapu-Lapu, which are the top one to three, respectively.
Velma Jane Lao, head of the Iloilo City Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion (LEDIP) office, told the Philippine News Agency on Tuesday that the result of the PPA means that Iloilo City has a strong economy.
“The strength of its economy is one of the elements investors look into. The high GDP per capita of Iloilo City indicates that the population is productive,” she said in an interview.
Lao said the city's aggressive promotion for investments has generated more employment and opportunities for entrepreneurship, thus increasing the productivity of the Ilonggos.
“The output of each Ilonggo contributes to our GDP,” she said, adding that investments have multiplier effects like job creation, boosting purchasing power, and increasing tax collection. (PNA)
