#MINDANAO

The Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority shows that Mindanao now has two trillion peso economies: the Davao Region at ₱1.08 trillion and Northern Mindanao at ₱1.04 trillion. In this column, we will examine these figures. In future columns, I will try to dive deeper into these numbers and what they mean for local businesses, farms, and the general population, which comprise our local economies. 

The Davao Region, with Davao City as its regional capital, remains the fourth-largest economy in the country, with a 2024 growth rate at 6.3 percent, slightly lower than the 6.7 percent in 2023. This is comprised of services at 61 percent, followed by Industry at 25.3 percent, and agriculture, fishery, and forestry at 13.6 percent.

The Northern Mindanao economy, with Cagayan de Oro City as its regional capital, grew by six percent in 2024, up from 5.2 percent in 2023, the sixth fastest growing regional economy in 2024. Its service sector comprised 56.5 percent, with industry at 25.6 percent and agriculture, fishery, and forestry at 17.9 percent.

When combined, the Davao and northern Mindanao regions compose almost a 10th of the country’s GDP. Their continuous growth can pull up adjacent regions, as these are where major ports, financial centers, trading posts, and logistics hubs are located.

I believe the growth achieved by both economies was boosted by recent infrastructure developments that put new road linkages that traverse the once inaccessible hinterlands that separate the two hubs. To illustrate this point, time was when travel from Cagayan de Oro to Davao meant a 10-hour trip heading east to Butuan City to enter the Maharlika Highway through the Agusan provinces to Davao City. This also meant that going from Davao to the now bustling cities of Malaybalay and Valencia in Bukidnon meant driving the 10-hour journey to Cagayan de Oro first, then heading south on the Sayre highway, making the now three-hour trip a grueling 15-hour ride.

Since the late 1990s, things have changed. These include the BUDA road that serves as a direct link between Davao City and the Sayre highway that runs from Cagayan de Oro and North Cotabato. This was further accelerated by new roads in the mid to late 2010s that cut through the sugar plantations between Maramag and Quezon Bukidnon, and the Talakag Road that goes through the western flank of the Bukidnon-Lanao plateau from Maramag, to end up in upper Balulang, Cagayan de Oro City. With such routes, Davao to Cagayan is a six-hour drive.

With the latest highway from San Fernando in Bukidnon to Talaingod and Tagum in Davao del Norte, travelers need not go through Davao City to reach said destinations. In the future, I look forward to the full completion of the Iligan-Bukidnon Road, which can further encourage travel from central to eastern Mindanao.

Such reforms allowed many businesses from Davao to expand production of export bananas and pineapples into areas such as Bukidnon in Northern Mindanao. It also encouraged more economic activity along the highway, such as restaurants to serve the needs of travelers. These roads can encourage manufacturing and agro-processing ventures to add value to what is grown in these areas, providing stable jobs for residents.

A challenge to this growth is the complicated and unpredictable tariff impositions by the US and their effects on economies, financial markets, and supply chains, as it may affect trade, the indispensable pathway through which opportunity is channeled and exchanged in local economies. This reality, and other challenges, will need to be examined by local research institutions and evaluated at the Regional Development Councils.