DAVAO CITY – Despite the crippling impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the economy, approved investment pledges registered in the Davao Region increased to P2.4 billion in the second quarter of 2020, or higher by 79.29 percent as compared to P497 million reported in the same quarter last year, National Economic Development Authority (NEDA)-Davao director Maria Lourdes Lim said.

In her report during the virtual launch of Davao Regional Development Plan 2017-2022, Lim said that these big-ticket investment projects came mostly from new hotel operator Acacia Hotel Davao and another big player in the export Cavendish banana production.

She said the region, which is one of the best performing regions in the country, will still manage to incur positive economic growth, owing to the discipline and resiliency of the people to adapt to the “new normal.”

Among the biggest investments in the region in 2019 included a new export producer of coconut products in Sitio Pantukan, Barangay JP Laurel, Panabo City, Davao del Norte amounting to P994 million; new bulk water supply project in Barangay Magdum, Tagum City, P586 million; and a new developer of an economic and low-cost housing project in Barangay Communal, Buhangin, Davao City, P416 million.

Department of Trade and Industry-Davao Director Belenda Ambi added that these new investments, despite coming mostly from domestic investors, will help sustain the growth of the Davao Region which comprises the provinces of Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Occidental, Davao Oriental, and Davao de Oro, and the chartered City of Davao.

“Despite the COVID pandemic, I think we should still be positive that we can address some of the challenges that we are facing because we are making use of new technologies and I think all government agencies, the local government units, and even the private sector are supporting the growth of the Davao Region,” she said.

Ambi said that she is optimistic the region will be able to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

Citing the Davao regional recovery and resiliency program, Lim added that the region adopted emergency, recovery, and resiliency stages laid down to cope with the impact of the pandemic.

Under the emergency stage initiatives, she said local governments ensured unhampered movement of agriculture and other essential goods and services, as well as focusing on the immediate provision of social services, establishment of unified regional guidelines on quarantine measures, and strict implementation of health protocols across all LGUs in the region.

From June to December, 2020, Lim said the focus of the region was in strengthening health systems and healthcare facilities and improving the status and supply of human resource for the health sector, including the “hiring of contact tracers as well as adoption of blended learning by shifting to digital and alternative learning modes as we opened the school year 2020-2021” on October 25.

“For 2021 onwards, this will now comprise our resiliency stage, we now focus on the ‘new normal; hopefully with the availability of a cure or a vaccine for COVID-19, we would have then normalized our business sectors and turned this crisis into opportunities,” she added.