BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) sustained its economic performance and ranked as the second fastest-growing regional economy in the Philippines in 2022. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced this in a news conference on April 27 in Baguio City. PSA-CAR Director Villafe Alibuyog reported that the services sector expanded by 10.8 percent and the industry sector by 7.0 percent while the agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AFF) sector contracted by 2.1 percent.
Responding to the report, NEDA Regional Dir. Susan A. Sumbeling in a Statement delivered by Freda Toyoken of the Policy Formulation and Planning Division, said that the full reopening of the economy, coupled with policies that still safeguard the health situation of the region, contributed to the sustained growth of the region. She added that the region’s high vaccination rate improved the people’s confidence to engage in various economic activities. “The impressive performance of the industry and services sectors proves that the region is already reaping the benefits of strengthening priority sectors that are potential growth drivers and employment generators,” she said.
The natural disasters, from strong typhoons and floods to earthquakes, disrupted the region’s agricultural production and slowed down the growth of the AFF sector in 2022. Raymond Bag-eo, planning officer of DA-CAR, assured the public that they are putting extra effort and resources to boost production, reduce losses, and implement innovation in the agri-fishery sector.
Looking forward, Toyoken mentioned that the region can sustain its economic performance by working together in the pursuit of economic and social transformation for a prosperous, inclusive, and resilient Cordillera as spelled out in the Regional Development Plan for 2023-2038.
“Apart from the Philippine and Regional Development Plans 2023-2028, the Cordillera Regional Development Council will formulate master plans on key priority industries that will guide the region in further optimizing the gains that we have in 2022,” she further added.
Representatives from the following regional agencies joined as the resource persons during the press conference: DA, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Philippine Economic Zone Authority, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Department of Tourism, Department of Information and Communications Technology, Department of Trade and Industry, Land Transportation Office, Department of Science and Technology and the Intellectual Property Satellite Office. By Legriv Vilee Marquez
