BUSINESS leaders in Palawan said Gov. Jose Chavez Alvarez, whose third and last term is about to end, will leave with a “lasting legacy,” having turned the province’s economy, driving its gross domestic product from negative (-) 1 percent when he assumed office in 2013 to 6.2 percent in 2017, and an average of over 7 percent province-wide before the pandemic hit the country in 2020.
Despite the COVID-19 countrywide-induced recession, Palawan recorded the highest share of 35.1 percent in the economy of the Mimaropa region (the Southwestern Tagalog provinces of Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan) in 2020.
“He may have had zero political experience when he started but as a business owner, he knew how to get things done,” said Jeffrey Armedilla, president of the Palawan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD) representative.
To continue his legacy, Alvarez is running as representative of the 2nd District of Palawan in the May 9 elections.
Alvarez was also able to maximize Palawan’s tourism potential as the province was voted the Best Island in the World in Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2020, a title it won three times in 2013, 2016 and 2017.
Alvarez prioritized the implementation of infrastructure projects that have contributed to the local tourism industry, which translated to hundreds of billions in pesos to the local economy.
“Before he took over, Palawan was averaging maybe about 300,000 tourists a year. In his first term alone, we were already getting close to 2 million tourists a year and every year the numbers were growing. If not for the pandemic, perhaps we would have hit his target of 5 million,” said Deborah Q. Tan, former president of the Palawan Tourism Council.
Under Alvarez’s watch, Palawan now has several alternate airports. Aside from Puerto Princesa City, the province now has airports in Coron, San Vicente, El Nido, Taytay, Busuanga, Cuyo, and Aguyata, and airstrips in every town, except in Kalayaan (which has a military airport), to accommodate small aircraft.
During his first term, around 5,580 kilometers of roads were either built or repaired. The provincial government purchased 341 brand-new equipment for road building and infrastructure projects.
