RDC aims to cut poverty by 2028

CEBU, Philippines — Despite a year marked by natural disasters, inflationary pressures and global uncertainties, Central Visayas is aiming to significantly reduce poverty over the next two years.

In her first State of the Region Address (SORA) on Wednesday, Regional Development Council (RDC)-7 Chairperson and Cebu Governor Pamela Baricuatro announced the region’s target of lowering poverty incidence to 10.5 percent by 2028 from 17.3 percent in 2023.

The goal forms part of a broader development agenda focused on sustaining economic growth, generating employment opportunities and strengthening resilience against future shocks.

"We must prepare not only for recovery, but for transformation," Baricuatro told RDC members and stakeholders during the council's full meeting in Danao City.

"The journey ahead is clear. By 2028, we aim to restore stronger economic growth, keep inflation within the target range of 2% to 4% and create more opportunities for equal employment," she added.

Although unemployment in Central Visayas fell to 3.8 percent in 2025, Baricuatro acknowledged that poverty remains the region’s most pressing challenge.

"Our greatest challenge remains reducing poverty among the population to 10.5 percent in 2028 from 17.3 percent in 2023," she said.

Baricuatro described 2025 as a challenging year for Central Visayas despite its strong economic performance in previous years.

The region entered the year after posting two consecutive years as the country’s fastest-growing economy. However, a magnitude-6.9 earthquake, flooding, pressures on agriculture and tourism, and various domestic and international developments tested the region’s resilience.

"This year, our story carries a different tone. After all, true strength is not measured when everything is easy. It is revealed in the face of challenges," she said.

Despite the setbacks, the governor emphasized that the region continued to make progress.

"Not only did we endure—we moved forward," she said.

Economy continues to grow

Baricuatro reported that Central Visayas still achieved economic growth in 2025, posting a 3.7-percent expansion and bringing its Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) to P1.32 trillion.

She said the region remained the largest economy outside Luzon and the fourth-largest economy in the country.

Growth was largely driven by the services sector, while industry showed signs of cautious recovery. Agriculture, however, posted a slight contraction, underscoring the need for stronger climate resilience and food security measures.

While supporting the region’s poverty reduction target, RDC-7 Vice Chairperson and Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev)-7 Regional Director Jennifer Bretaña warned that poverty figures may temporarily worsen before improving.

Bretaña explained that the 2025 Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES), which serves as the basis for measuring poverty incidence, was conducted during a period marked by multiple economic disruptions.

"Let's brace ourselves in 2026 because the Family Income and Expenditure Survey, which is the basis for poverty incidence measurement, was conducted last year," Bretaña said.

"At the height of all these things that happened, the results of the 2025 poverty incidence will be released this coming August. Let's brace ourselves that we might be affected further in terms of poverty incidence."

She noted that the current poverty incidence stands at 17.3 percent but could rise because the survey coincided with several adverse events that affected household incomes and purchasing power.

Bretaña attributed the challenges to a combination of domestic and external factors, including slower government spending, declining public trust that could discourage investors, typhoons that disrupted food production, and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East that fueled inflation.

As an island region, Central Visayas remains highly dependent on external markets, particularly in tourism, business process outsourcing, manufacturing and exports, she said.

Food inflation surged following typhoons that struck the region in the latter part of 2025, while transportation costs also increased amid global developments.

The situation was further aggravated by heightened demand generated by major events such as the Sinulog Festival and other tourism-related activities, Bretaña added.

Investments seen as key

Regional leaders are banking on increased investments and job generation to achieve their poverty reduction target.

"It's very important that we continue to attract investors. We need people to invest," Bretaña said.

"When we invest, there will be a lot of jobs. We create more jobs. When we create more jobs, we try to temper the impact of inflation and also lower family incomes to poverty incidence in the region."

Baricuatro said foreign investment performance remains encouraging despite prevailing economic challenges.

"Surprisingly, our foreign investment rate is higher. It's 37 percent higher, the highest all over the country," the governor said.

Food security a priority

Both Baricuatro and Bretaña stressed that strengthening food security will be crucial to reducing poverty in the region.

Baricuatro said agriculture remains one of the most effective tools in addressing poverty, especially since Cebu and much of Central Visayas continue to rely heavily on food supplies from other regions.

"A proven solution in addressing poverty is agriculture," she said.

"The problem in Cebu is that we're not food-sufficient. We're food-insecure. We don't have our own food chain here in Cebu. We get our rice and other food items from other regions."

The governor said efforts are underway to boost agricultural production and strengthen food systems across the Visayas.

Bretaña echoed the need to prioritize food security, noting that food accounts for the largest share of expenditures among low-income households.

"What we need to push now is really food security," she said.

"We need to secure food first since once food is stable, the majority of the Central Visayans, especially the bottom 30 percent, spend most of their income on food."

"So when we lower the cost of food, we improve the lives of the bottom 30 percent."

Infrastructure push continues

Baricuatro also highlighted major infrastructure projects intended to sustain economic growth and improve connectivity throughout the region.

These include the expansion of national roads, bridge maintenance projects, the substantial completion of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit South Bus Terminal-Capitol segment, and preparatory works for the Cebu-Mactan Fourth Bridge and Coastal Road and the Panglao-Tagbilaran Offshore Bridge Connector.

She likewise cited gains in aviation and maritime connectivity, digital infrastructure, renewable energy development, and the region’s achievement of 100-percent household and population access to electricity.

Baricuatro concluded by emphasizing the importance of collaboration among government agencies, local government units, the private sector and communities in achieving the region’s development goals.

"Development is never the masterpiece of a single brushstroke, nor the work of a single institution. It is a grand tapestry woven by the hands of every regional director, every local chief executive, every private sector partner, and every single citizen who refused to give up," she said. — /FPL (FREEMAN)