By Tara Yap

The economy of Western Visayas continues to grow, but at a slower pace, with the industry sector posting comparatively lower growth while the agriculture and fishery sector surged with a growth of 1.9 percent in 2016 compared to only 0.7 in 2015.
Fred Sollesta, regional director of Philippine Statistics Authority-6 (PSA-6), said the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) of Western Visayas (Region 6) grew 6.1 percent in 2016, compared to an 8.8-percent growth in 2015.
Last year, the economic growth of the region comprising of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental provinces was slightly lower than the national economy, which registered a 6.9 percent growth.
The industry sector posted the highest negative growth with 11.5 percent in 2016, lower than the 23.3 percent growth in 2015.
The services sector posted a growth of 6.7 percent in 2016, slightly lower than the 7.2 percent growth in 2015.
GRDP is defined by the government as the “the aggregate of gross value added (GVA) of all resident producer units in the region” and includes regional estimates on three major sectors, including their sub-sectors, namely: agriculture, fishery and forestry, industry sector, and others./WDJ