NEDA: Davao drives Mindanao economy

MANILA, Philippines - Davao Region has remained Mindanao's top economy in 2013 with "sustained" increase in its gross regional domestic product since the 7.4-percent spurt in 2012.

While National Economic Development Authority's regional director Maria Lourdes Lim failed to mention Davao's GRDP expansion last year, she said that Davao is still among the country's highest economic contributors despite the devastating impact of typhoon Pablo in 2012.

Landing fourth in the country overall, Davao has a 3.8-percent share in the Philippines' gross domestic product, Lim said.

Davao's industries and the services sectors drove the region's performance, Lim said.

The services sector, for one, has a 53-percent share in the economy due to the influx of private investments into information technology.

Davao expects more investments and opportunities to pour in as it awaits the opening of the Matina IT Park, four BPO firms to offering thousands of jobs and an important electronic firm, the economist noted.

The construction, energy and manufacturing sectors are also booming in Davao, streaming in at least P47 billion into the local economy.

The tourism industry also improved last year as it saw a 10-percent climb in tourist arrivals whose spending increase by 67.5 percent especially in the first half of the year at the height of the summer season.

The agriculture sector, meanwhile, has not yet fully recovered as it bore the brunt of Pablo. In 2013, it saw reduced production of rice, banana and coconut. - Camille Diola