2013 siege dampens Zamboanga's economic growth

ZAMBOANGA CITY - The deadly siege last year in this city has dampened the economic growth of the Zamboanga peninsula, dislodging the latter from the list of the fastest-growing economic regions in the country.

According to a statement of the  the Philippine Statistics Authority – National Statistical Coordination Board (PSA-NSCB) regional office released Thursday here, the region's economic growth slowed to 4.3 percent  in 2013 from 12.9 percent in 2012.

Mewchun WS. Pamaran, director PSA-NSCB Region 9, said the service sector, the largest contributor to the region's economy in 2012,  slowed following the three-week siege in the city launched by the Nur Misuari faction of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

Pamaran also said there was a downturn on the transport storage and communication, and manufacturing services as a result of the attack. Although the other sub-sectors of the economy  such as fisheries and agriculture posted growth, they were not enough to make up for the slowdown in the services sector.

The other sub-sectors that suffered downturns were trade and repair, real estate, renting and business.

Pamaran said the industry sector also slowed from a growth of 31.2 percent in 2012 to 4.3 percent in 2013,  citing that  manufacturing which accounted for 26.1 percent of the region’s economy suffered a 0.1-percent contraction  from a growth of  35.2 percent in 2012 due to the decrease in  food production.

“When it comes to the manufacturing, one big player says they  lost about P3-million a day (during the siege), and the transportation and the trade sectors were affected,” Pamaran added.

She said mining and quarrying, electricity, gas and water supply also slowed because of the siege.

“It’s a big challenge for us in the region to do better. Our spirit should not be dampened because at least we were not in the bottom.  At least the other sector also helped,” she said.

Pamaran said they are expecting that the region's growth will improve with a  5.5-percent growth rate for 2014. - Roel Pareño