WHILE Eastern Visayas continues to be plagued by its perennial problems?corruption, insurgency, unemployment, poor economy?its leaders continue to hope that the region will overcome all these in the New Year.

For 2009, the region?s unemployment?5.6 percent?was somehow eased with the opening of a business processing outsourcing company (Apac Customer Services Inc.) in Leyte and a shopping mall in Tacloban which did not only provide additional income to local government units where they operate but opened up thousands of new jobs.

Apac, buoyed by good business, is planning to hire more workers.

Export decline

However, major export industries in the region, like the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refinery Corp. (Pasar) and the Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corp. (Philphos), in Isabel, Leyte, and some oil mills that are engaged in exports reported declines in work hours due to falling demand in the world market, a report obtained from the regional office of the National Economic Development Authority (Neda) said.

The same report also indicated that various government-initiated programs implemented this year also helped provide jobs, notably, the CLEEP (Comprehensive Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program) and Project NARS (Nurses Assigned in Rural Service). Close to 10,000 individuals from across the region were believed to have benefited from these programs.

While palay production in the region dropped by about six percent from its projected production of more than 1.03 million metric tons in 2009, agriculture officials remain confident that the decline would not affect its sufficiency in rice.

Rat infestation and weather disturbances were among the factors for the decline of palay production.

Another major crop in the region, copra, also suffered a ?substantial decrease? in 2009, the Neda report has indicated.

It said that the global crisis that hit the United States and Japan, where 80 percent of the region?s copra is exported, largely caused the drop in the prices of copra.

Falling prices

Based on the same report, from an average price of P32.70 per kilogram, the price of copra went down to P13.23 per kilogram or a drop of 40.5 percent.

But the Philippine Coconut Authority is confident that as the economy of the world bounce back in 2010, the industry will recover.

Peace and order remains to be a big headache among security agencies of the government. The Philippine Army, for one, continues its battle against members of the rebel group, the New People?s Army, particularly in Samar Island.

While the officials of the Philippine Army had admitted they could not totally lick the problem before the year has ended, they vowed to reduce the rebels? strength to ?inconsequential levels.?

Poverty reason

The insurgency in the region has been cited as one of the reasons Eastern Visayas remains to be one of the poorest regions in the country.

This year, the cityhood of three municipalities?Baybay (Leyte), Catbalogan (Samar) and Borongan (Eastern Samar)?were finally sealed by the Supreme Court, expecting to boost not only their respective economies but even the region?s.

Presidential Assistant for Eastern Visayas Cynthia Nierras said that just like the rest of the region?s officials, she remains hopeful that the region, rich in human and natural resources, could finally reach its potentials in 2010 and in the years to come citing various government programs and those fueled by the private sectors as the factors.