CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Central Luzon said the collective efforts of all agencies and government instrumentalities is the key to sustain economic gains.
In his message, NEDA Regional Director Leon Dacanay Jr. said the invaluable contributions of various agencies and sectors has placed the regional economy in a high growth trajectory over the past years.
“By working as a team, we were able to further strengthen Central Luzon and its macroeconomic fundamentals. In 2018, the Gross Regional Domestic Product of the region was valued at PhP904 billion, making Central Luzon the third largest contributor to the national economy, next to Calabarzon and the National Capital Region,” Dacanay said.
As a result, the official said the industry sector grew by 7.6 percent and remained to have the largest share tantamount to 48.6 percent of the region’s total output.
Dacanay added that the region’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals, mature economic forts and proactive efforts managed to cushion the adverse consequences of inflation.
He also said that data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the average unemployment rate in Central Luzon was decreasing at 5.1%, while the poverty incidence follows a downward trend which dropped to 5.0% in 2018.
However, despite these, the director stressed the need to strengthen the culture of planning in the region to sustain this momentum.
“In the coming days, we expect the Central Luzon Regional Development Plan 2017-2022 Midterm Update to be approved by the Regional Development Council and serve as a guide for all members in aligning their respective planning, policy-making, programming, and budgeting activities to ensure that all development efforts are fully coordinated and uninterrupted,” Dacanay said.
To keep the region’s growth and further address the development challenges that confront Central Luzon, he added there is a need to continue building infrastructure base to improve resiliency, and accelerate connectivity and linkages, food security, human capital development, energy industrial growth, and urban development.
In closing, the director called on the different agencies to continue supporting the region’s pursuit for equitable growth and development.
“Only through our concerted and collective efforts could we really hope to achieve our vision for the region and cement a sound and bright future for all generations,” he said.
