Cebu economy crawls by 2.7% in 2025

Local

CEBU'S economy continued to expand in 2025, but at a slower pace, with both the province and Cebu City recording weaker growth than the previous year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)

Cebu Province’s economy grew by 2.7 percent in 2025, down from 7.4 percent in 2024, while Cebu City expanded by 5.8 percent, compared with 7 percent a year earlier.

The figures were released by the PSA Cebu Provincial Statistical Office on Thursday, Oct. 1, during an information dissemination event.

The Province of Cebu, excluding Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City and Mandaue City, recorded a gross domestic product (GDP) of P453.76 billion in 2025, up from P441.65 billion in 2024.

GDP is a measure of the total value of goods and services produced within a country, is widely used to gauge the size and performance of an economy.

GDP growth indicates whether economic activity is expanding or slowing over a given period.

Cebu City’s GDP reached P353.81 billion, increasing from P334.35 billion the previous year.

In Cebu Province, human health and social work activities posted the fastest growth among industries at 11.8 percent.

Public administration and defense, including compulsory social security, grew by 11.3 percent, while financial and insurance activities expanded by 9.6 percent.

Mining and quarrying recorded the largest decline at 13.4 percent.

In Cebu City, human health and social work activities also led industry growth at 13.1 percent.

Public administration and defense, including compulsory social security, grew by 9.3 percent, followed by transportation and storage at 7.9 percent.

The city’s per capita GDP increased by 5.7 percent to P365,037 in 2025, higher than the regional per capita GDP of P192,739.

Cebu Province recorded a per capita GDP of P126,961, a 1.3 percent increase from 2024 but below the regional figure.

PSA-Central Visayas Director Officer-in-Charge Wilma A. Perante said the PPA provides local governments and sectoral planners with data that can guide economic policies and investment decisions.

“The Provincial Product Accounts give our local chief executives and sectoral planners the precision needed to craft better policies, target investments where they matter most, and bridge economic gaps,” Perante said.

She said the data can be used in planning for rural communities, tourism, information technology-business process management and local enterprises.

Perante also presented the broader economic performance of Central Visayas.

The region grew by 7.3 percent in 2024, with Bohol recording 8.8 percent growth, Cebu Province 7.3 percent, Mandaue City 6.9 percent and Lapu-Lapu City 6.5 percent.

Central Visayas’ economy grew by 3.7 percent in 2025, bringing its total economic output to P1.32 trillion, according to Perante.

She said the region remained the largest economy outside Mega Manila, supported by nearly P35 billion in local investment approvals and continued non-residential development.

Perante said the latest figures should serve as a basis for future planning rather than simply as a measure of past performance.

“Data with purpose paired with vision becomes a roadmap for progress,” she said.

Meanwhile, earlier this year, it was reported that the Philippine economy grew by 4.4 percent in 2025, slowing from 5.7 percent in 2024 and marking its weakest annual growth in five years.

The PSA central office said fourth-quarter GDP grew by just 3 percent, down from 5.3 percent a year earlier and the revised 3.9 percent in the third quarter.

The slowdown was attributed in part to weaker government spending, investments and consumer spending amid the flood control scandal.

The 2025 growth rate also fell short of the government’s target for the third consecutive year.(MyTVCebu)