Regional Economic Situationer
Region V (Bicol) - 4th Quarter 2007

ASSESSMENT OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE

Except for the restoration of road networks and bridges that were heavily damaged by typhoons Milenyo and Reming last 2006, rehabilitation of the Bicol region has not been as fast-paced as reported in the 3rd quarter QRES. Much remain to be accomplished in terms of core shelter and school building projects.

Barely a year after the calamities, Bicol was spared by another supertyphoon as Typhoon Mina veered away on the last hour towards Quezon province. Still, this triggered mass evacuations in the threatened provinces and left a few casualties in Catanduanes and Camarines Norte from flash floods and landslides. Fishery facilities in Camarines Sur, Albay and Masbate likewise suffered losses worth millions of pesos. Several infrastructure projects including agricultural products were also reported to have been destroyed in Irosin, Sorsogon following lahar flows that were caused by the heavy rains.

Other local disasters had their negative impact on the economy such as the unabated red tide in Sorsogon Bay and the fish kill off the shores of Rapu-Rapu, Albay.

Tourism continued to boost the region's economy with the significant increases in tourist arrivals that were drawn mainly by various events, festivals and national conferences that were locally-hosted.

The decline in investments is offset by first to third quarters cumulative increases in revenue collection by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), which actually overshoot their targets for the period.

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