Eastern samar: Eastern Samar emerged as the fastest-growing economy in Eastern Visayas in 2024, posting a 10.2 percent growth rate, the only double-digit expansion recorded among the region’s six provinces and one highly urbanized city.
According to Philippines News Agency, the 2024 Provincial Product Accounts report for Eastern Visayas, released on Tuesday by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) regional office, indicated that all economies in the region experienced growth in 2024 compared to their 2023 performance. Following Eastern Samar is Tacloban City, which grew by 8.2 percent, and Southern Leyte, which expanded by 7.1 percent. These three economies surpassed the regional average growth of 6.2 percent.
The 2024 Provincial Product Accounts highlights Eastern Samar’s economic performance, attributing the growth to continued improvements in infrastructure, public services, and local investment activity across key sectors such as construction, trade, and services. PSA data revealed that services constituted 54.2 percent of Eastern Samar’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), forming the backbone of the province’s economic structure. The services sector includes activities such as trade, transportation, accommodation, food services, education, and public administration.
In a statement, Joselito Abrugar, Eastern Samar provincial planning and development officer, noted that last year’s gains were driven by substantial investments. ‘A significant portion of our investments goes to construction and agriculture. If you travel around the province, you will see several farm-to-market roads – both improved and newly concreted,’ Abrugar said. He cited the newly accessible land travel from Maslog to Dolores town, previously possible only by boat.
Across the region, only Leyte has an industry-based economy, with the sector contributing 53.9 percent of its GDP. Meanwhile, the rest of the provinces and Tacloban City were services-based economies. Services accounted for 49 percent of Biliran’s GDP, 59.9 percent in Northern Samar, 51.1 percent in Samar, 53.6 percent in Southern Leyte, and 77.1 percent in Tacloban City.
The industry sector includes mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity, steam, water and waste management, and construction. The services sector, meanwhile, encompasses wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage, accommodation and food services, information and communication, finance, real estate, education, health, and public administration, among others.
