BAGUIO CITY – The Cordillera is the fourth fastest growing region in the country after registering a 6.9 percent economic growth that exceeded the regional target of five to six percent last year, the chair of the Regional Development Council (RDC) in the Cordillera said here Wednesday at the close of the 37th Cordillera month celebration.
Apayao Gov. Elias C. Bulut, Jr, who also chairs the RDC-CAR, described the said growth as a powerful force in the region’s fight against poverty, acting both as a catalyst and a result of the aggressive poverty reduction efforts being implemented in the different areas around the region.
Earlier, the Cordillera office of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA-CAR) reported that poverty incidence among Cordilleran families declined to 9.4 percent in the first semester of 2023 from 12.1 percent in the same period of 2021.
“We anticipate and earnestly hope that this downward trend in our region’s poverty will persist pending the release of the full year 2023 poverty statistics in October,” Bulut stressed.
The governor claimed that as the region’s economy expands, more opportunities become available where the latest employment data shows an improved labor market, with employment rising to 96.7 percent last year, up from 96.3 percent in 2022.
He pointed out that the said macro-economic performance validates the policy directions that the RDC-CAR steered based on the available development strategies that were earlier outlined in the 2023-2028 regional development plan.
Further, it demonstrates how strong partnership among the government, private sector, and civil society organizations contribute to boosting the regional economy and advancing the region towards a sustainable high growth trajectory.
Initially, the RDC-CAR championed the development of the key sectors in the region where it adopted the Cordillera Renewable Energy Master Plan that aims to promote sustainable energy development and serve as the region’s road map for developing its estimated 7,438.94 megawatts of renewable energy potentials, contributing to both regional and national energy security.
“We have forged agreements with power generating companies for the administration of the regional share of the financial benefits under Energy Regulation No. 1-94 of the Department of Energy,” he added.
Bulut acknowledged the contributions of the various RDC-CAR sectors in ensuring that development remains within reach, leaving no one behind.
“We will continue to explore opportunities on how the Cordillera will remain inclusive in terms of development. We still have a lot of things to do in terms of tapping and maximizing the potentials of our existing natural resources that will surely spur the region’s economic growth in the future in preparation for our quest for the establishment of the autonomous region,” Bulut said.
He asserted that the proper and responsible utilization of the region’s available natural resources will definitely translate to the generation of more jobs and the creation of increased economic activities and sources of livelihood of the people. By Dexter A. See
