WESTERN Visayas may be the Philippines’ fastest-growing regional economy, but beyond its booming commercial centers are communities where prosperity remains frustratingly distant. That is the uncomfortable geography behind the region’s impressive economic numbers.
The regional economy expanded by 6.4 percent to ₱683.44 billion, while family poverty incidence fell substantially from 9.8 percent in 2023 to 5.2 percent. Yet the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development Region 6 acknowledges that poverty and inequality persist in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas, or GIDAs.
“Even though poverty incidence has reduced, poverty and inequality persist in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDAs) — the far-flung areas,” DEPDev-6 chief economic development specialist Joyalita B. Tigres said.
That admission deserves attention because geography must never become destiny.
A child born in an isolated barangay should not have poorer prospects because a good school, hospital or reliable internet connection is hours away. A farmer should not remain poor because transporting produce to market is difficult. A sick resident should not receive poorer healthcare because geography separates his community from adequate medical services.
When these disadvantages overlap, poverty becomes more than insufficient income. It becomes a problem of distance, access and opportunity.
Government therefore has a responsibility to go where economic development does not naturally go — to communities where building roads, extending connectivity and delivering healthcare and education may be difficult and costly.
The last barangay must matter precisely because it is the hardest to reach.
DEPDev-6 has called on local government units (LGUs) and regional agencies to translate the Regional Development Plan 2023–2028 into concrete programs for communities still struggling with poverty and inequality.
That should become an accountability test for every provincial, city and municipal government in Western Visayas.
Where are the poorest communities? Which barangays remain difficult to reach? Where are healthcare, education, connectivity and livelihoods weakest?
Government budgets should reveal whether these communities are genuinely being prioritized or merely repeatedly mentioned in development plans.
Development must deliberately travel — through roads connecting farms to markets; digital connectivity linking communities to information and commerce; schools offering rural children greater opportunities; healthcare reaching populations far from hospitals; and livelihood programs allowing families to earn decent incomes without abandoning their communities.
Agriculture must be part of this strategy. DEPDev-6 Regional Director Arecio Casing Jr. has urged Western Visayas to move from simply selling raw agricultural products toward value-added agro-industry. Processing, storage, logistics, entrepreneurship and market access should move closer to farming communities so that more economic value remains where agricultural products originate.
Western Visayas cannot settle for two realities: one that is connected, modern and full of opportunity, and another where distance continues to dictate access to jobs, markets and basic services.
Indeed, the decline in poverty incidence to 5.2 percent should make the remaining pockets of poverty more visible, not less.
The objective must be clear: no barangay too distant, no community too isolated and no family too geographically inconvenient for development to reach.
Western Visayas deserves to celebrate its 6.4-percent economic growth. But the greater achievement will come when the farmer in the hinterlands can reach markets, the child in a remote village can access quality education, the sick can obtain timely healthcare, and families no longer have to leave their communities simply to find opportunity. That is inclusive development.
Until prosperity travels from Western Visayas’ booming economic centers to its most distant communities, the region’s remarkable growth story remains unfinished.
Development must not stop where the pavement ends. It must reach the last barangay.
