TACLOBAN CITY – Eastern Visayas business outlook drastically jumped to 51% for the fourth quarter of 2014 from 20.7% in the third quarter, citing businessmen confidence to rise up from the rubble as a result of supertyphoon Yolanda’s devastation. Fernando Silvoza, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Department of Economic Statistics deputy director, said there is “positive perception for the region to move on and be able to rise from destruction.” “I would say that because of continued assistance provided by local and international NGOs, it raised the expectation of higher recovery,” he aded.
However, he warned that Yolanda-related assistance “should be taken as something that is not infinite.”
“That should be picked up by other industries here so that if the situation is normal, the local business will be able to sustain that growth,” Silvoza, who attended a BSP gathering here last September 16, said.
Asked to comment about economic impacts of the limited operation of the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport, region’s main airport based in Tacloban, the official stressed that it is only temporary. “From many respondents perspective, the airport concern is temporary in nature. What is important is that the government is doing something and it removes negative short term sentiments. The response is long term and that spells out short term concern,” Silvoza said.
Since early September, the airport’s runway is closed to Airbus fleets, resulting to flight cancellations. The business confidence survey is a quarterly study of the central bank with the Business World’s list of top 1,000 corporations in the country as respondents. (SARWELL Q.MENIANO)
