“Central Visayas will continue to stand as a compelling and resilient investment destination beyond Mega Cebu, offering diverse opportunities anchored on its dynamic regional economies, strategic location, and expanding infrastructure base,” said Jennifer Bretaña, Department of Economy, Planning and Development in Central Visayas director (DepDev-7).
During the 2025 Economic Performance Conference led by the Philippine Statistics Authority here, Bretaña said the region, composed of Bohol and Cebu, grew by only 3.7 percent in 2025 due to global and local headwinds, including steep US-imposed tariffs, flood control controversies, and the earthquake and typhoon that hit Cebu.
While 2026 opened on a strong note—with Mactan-Cebu International Airport posting record monthly passenger traffic in January—Middle East tensions by late February drove fuel prices to record highs, raising transport costs and commodity prices.
As a result, inflation in Central Visayas climbed from 5.6 percent to 7.4 percent in March, the highest nationwide, Bretaña said.
Silver lining
However, the meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) sector could serve as a bright spot for Central Visayas, especially following last year’s opening of Mactan Expo—a premier hub for international events and tourism located in the Mactan Newtown township in Lapu-Lapu City.
SMX Convention Center Seaside Cebu, which is said to redefine the country’s MICE landscape and will be the biggest convention center in the Philippines, is set to open this year at the South Road Properties in Cebu City.
Bretaña said they also expected its significant impact on the services sector, particularly for transportation, accommodation, and food service.
“Moreover, the outlook from the business sector for the region is still positive. Several restaurant chains, brands, and concepts from Metro Manila, particularly those that utilize large floor areas are expanding in the region,” she added.
Contraction
In 2025, the manufacturing sector posted the biggest contraction at -1.75 percent, followed by agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (AFF) at -0.3 percent. Mining and quarrying fell by -6.6 percent but contributed only minimally to the economy.
Manufacturing, on the other hand, is one of the three major contributors to the Central Visayas economy, alongside the services and tourism sectors.
Bretaña said the region’s manufacturing sector took a hit after the US imposed tariffs on imports from China, Vietnam, South Korea, and Japan.Central Visayas was also affected, as it produces intermediate electronic and semiconductor inputs used in final goods manufactured in these countries. As tariffs weakened their exports to the US, demand for these inputs likewise declined.
“Exports related to manufacturing contracted sharply by 9.5 percent. Semiconductor manufacturing materials, while still the largest import category, fell by 38.4 percent. This suggests that factories were either producing less, scaling back orders, or adjusting to the weaker export demand,” said Bretaña.
A semiconductor company in Central Visayas scaled down operations and laid off workers in April 2025 due to declining order volumes—a clear sign of weakening manufacturing activity.
Tourism
Lower tourist arrivals were driven by national economic concerns and policies, intensified regional competition in Southeast Asia—particularly from Vietnam and Thailand—and environmental pressures that led to the closure of key attractions, especially in Bohol.
Efforts to attract more tourists to Cebu were dealt a major blow when a strong earthquake struck Northern Cebu on Sept. 30, 2025, damaging several tourist sites and transport infrastructure. Total damage and losses were estimated at about P663 million, with repair and rehabilitation costs projected to reach at least P1.4 billion.
The flood control scandal that sent shockwaves across the country triggered a slowdown in government spending, especially in construction.
The earthquake, floods in November 2025, and the African Swine Fever affected the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector, causing a negative growth rate of 0.3 percent. Most affected was the swine production which declined from 36,925 metric tons in 2024 to 32,590 metric tons in 2025.
Moving on
Bretaña identified several recommendations to help the region move forward. These include accelerating the development of diverse power sources to address high electricity costs, prioritizing the production of high-value crops, participating in ASF vaccine trials, and promoting ease of travel for tourists, among others.
While the “unfortunate” events of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026 may be discouraging, she recalled that Central Visayas faced similar challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, compounded by the devastating impact of Super Typhoon “Odette” toward the end of 2021.
Yet, she added, Central Visayas rebounded and became the fastest-growing regional economy in 2023 and 2024.
“In 2026, by working together through a whole-of-society approach—the government, the business sector, and civil society—we will find our way through these challenging times. We are Sugbuhol (Cebu and Bohol), and we shall prevail,” Bretaña stressed. —Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
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