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Figure 4. Typhoon Intensity and Poverty Incidence Cross-Map
among regions. Of the region’s 3.1 million employed persons in 2018, about 900,000, or almost 30 percent were working in the agriculture, forestry and fishery (AFF) sector.3
Figure 4. Typhoon Intensity and Poverty Incidence Cross-Map
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Data gathered from the conduct of PDNA also show that the hardest hit communities by Typhoon Odette are those in the coastal areas in Panay Island and Negros Occidental. The majority of the affected households have type 1 or shanty which, who rely primarily on agriculture and fisheries and small businesses. Most of these households are below the poverty line and will likely remain to have low income in the next years because of the economic shocks brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and further aggravated by the typhoon. With the combined PHP6 billion damages and losses wrought by Typhoon Odette in the AFF sector and inadequate income during a disaster and no or limited access to social security, disruption in employment and income flows are expected. The high prices of basic commodities due to insufficient supply of agricultural and fishery products can also trigger an increase in poverty incidence in the region.
Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP)
The GRDP of Western Visayas posted a positive growth from 4.8 percent in 2018 to 6.3 percent in 2019, with all sectors performing better before the pandemic. When COVID-19 was at its peak in 2020, it decelerated to -9.7 percent. The huge contractions in the service and industry sectors were the main drivers for the decline. Meanwhile, the agriculture, forestry and fishery (AFF) sector of the region accelerated by 4.7 percent from 2019 to 2020 – the fastest growth rate among all regions in the country, with palay and corn, spiking at 10.8 and 2.04 percent, respectively.
The GRDP measures the economic performance of a region, where it covers the aggregate
3 Western Visayas Regional Development Plan, 2017-2022 Midterm Update, Chapter 8 Expanding and Diversifying Opportunities in
Agriculture and Fisheries, P.89
