Western Visayas needs almost ₱ 400 billion to recover from the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in the next three years.
This is embodied in the Western Visayas COVID-19 Recovery Plan crafted by the crafted by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
According to NEDA-6 Regional Director Ro-Ann A. Bacal in the document’s foreword, “the Western Visayas Regional Recovery Program (RRP) is the region’s come-back plan to create jobs and sustain regional economic growth amid the continuing challenges brought about by the pandemic.”
Based on the RRP, the border and quarantine restrictions disrupted sustainability of agricultural and fishery supply chains.
The disruptions in transportation, trade, and labor impact on the production and delivery of goods and services, affecting some 33,037 rice farmers alone in the region, as reported by the Department of Agriculture.
In a survey conducted by Inter-Agency Task Force Technical Working Group (TWG) for Anticipatory and Forward Planning, 10.5 percent of the 1,390 respondents from Western Visayas were unable to continue rice farming activities, 10 percent in high value vegetables farming and 8.5 percent did not continue fishing activities. Likewise, about 215.9 hectares of rice and high value crops farm lands were not planted when the ECQ was imposed in the region.
Moreover, many farmers and fishers did not continue farming and fishing because they belong to an age group considered as highly vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus and are required to stay at home during the quarantine period.
The plan estimated that Western Visayas’s agriculture sector lost ₱ 3.5 billion in unsold agricultural produce.
Due to failure to sell their produce, many farmers and fishers suffered loss of income. Based on the business rapid assessment survey for agriculture and fisheries sector conducted by the TWG on Anticipatory and Forward Planning, about ₱ 94.3 million was lost from unsold produce in the country, the biggest chunk coming from Luzon area.
Although not as big as the direct losses incurred in Luzon, survey respondents from Western Visayas claim they lost about ₱ 3.524 million worth of direct losses from unsold produce.
Those engaged in high value crops claimed the highest loss at P2.043 million, followed by cereals at ₱ 0.808 million. Direct losses from fisheries was at ₱ 460,000, livestock and poultry at ₱ 213,000.
In trade and industry, micro, small, and medium enterprises caught flat-footed when the pandemic struck and the issuing enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was implemented.
The RRP said that as of April 30, 2020, a total of 23,974 establishments closed their operations either partially or totally.
“There were tremendous losses of income among MSMEs that sold their products in OTOP (one town-one product) hubs or consolidators in the tourist areas of Boracay and Kalibo, which in normal times, would generate an average monthly sales of ₱ 693,000 and ₱ 459,000, respectively,” it added.
In tourism, an estimated ₱ 19 billion was lost after the expected 875,000 tourists that would have likely visited the region from March 17 to April 30, 2020 was not realized due to the implementation of the ECQ.
The first five months of the year are usually the time when the tourism industry draws more visitors to the region, starting with the religious festivals in January up to the peak of summer season in the month of May.
“Unfortunately, these were the very months when community quarantines were imposed in the region and throughout the country to limit transmission. The suspension of travels by air, land and sea and imposition of border controls by LGUs stopped people from visiting the many and varied tourist attractions of the region,” the NEDA document said.
At least 30 percent of tourism enterprises were adversely hit by the pandemic. Based on the latest inventory of the Department of Tourism (DOT)-6, there are 6,231 primary and secondary tourism enterprises in Western Visayas, the highest number of which are in Aklan and Bacolod City.
Of the 6,231 enterprises, a total of 1,815 tourism enterprises were hardly hit by the pandemic. Based on the survey conducted by DOT-VI, out of 651 accommodation establishments, only 48 were operational during the implementation of the ECQ in March to April.
Some establishments with 2,019 available rooms served as temporary accommodation for health workers, on-duty staff of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies, long staying tourists, walk-in guests, and stranded OFWs.
Aside from tourism establishments, other affected primary tourism industry players are the 76 travel and tours businesses, 64 tourist transport operators, and 218 other tourism enterprises classified as MICE facilities, eco-tour facilities, and tour guiding services.
Secondary tourism enterprises in the region were also affected by the pandemic. These include the 121 health and wellness services and 685 enterprises such as farm tourism sites, shopping malls, specialty shops, museums, galleries, restaurants, tourism recreational facilities, and tourism entertainment complex.
The Regional Recovery Plan 2020-2023 would require a total investment requirement of ₱ 393.355 billion.
By thematic area, the economic sector would require the largest allocation of ₱ 253.318 billion or 64.40 percent of the total, which include the Agriculture and Fisheries and Industry and Services sectors.
The Social Services thematic area has the second biggest investment requirement at ₱ 73.080 billion or 18.58 percent covering the following sectors of health, education and training, social protection and housing.
A total of ₱ 32.363 billion is allocated for infrastructure and transport (8.23 %), ₱ 31.987 billion for governance (8.13%), and ₱ 2.607 billion for environment (0.66 %).
The funds will be sourced from the regular and re-aligned budgets of the regional line agencies and local government units.
On a yearly basis, the region needs to invest ₱ 56.3 billion in 2020; ₱ 110.08 billion in 2021; ₱ 58.7 billion in 2022; and ₱ 28.11 billion in 2023.
Bacal said the plan was a product of a series of multi-level and multi-sector focus group discussions were conducted among stakeholders from local government units, regional line agencies, the academe and private sector.
“The formulation of the recovery plan started with the generation of inputs thru on-line consultations with various stakeholders in the assessment of the effect of COVID-19 in the region within the areas of health, economic and livelihood activity, social services, infrastructure and transport, governance and environment. This was followed by a three-day virtual focus group discussion taking off from the initial draft formulated from submissions of regional line agencies, local government units, government corporations, financial institutions, and state universities and colleges.”
The online FGDs were conducted to solicit comments and suggestions to improve the strategies, legislative agenda, programs and projects of the draft RRP in ensuring the effective delivery of government services and supporting the gradual opening of the region’s economy that will entice consumers to start spending and demanding for the region’s goods and services, Bacal added.
(Francis Angelo via The Daily Guardian (TDG), photo courtesy by TDG)