Friday, October 18, 2024

NorMin 2023: New chapters, calls for justice

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (Dec. 27, 2023) – Northern Mindanao will always have a story to tell every year. In 2023, the region did not disappoint, bringing in a considerable amount of national attention

In particular, Misamis Occidental province had more of that this year.

The aftermath of the December 2022 shear line floods compelled President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to visit the province and Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental as well, in early January.

Marcos’ meetings with regional and local officials with Cabinet members have created long-term policies, especially in adding disaster-resilient infrastructure projects and social welfare programs.

Since then, the provincial government has rolled out cash assistance in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development for flood-affected residents.

Crime, deaths

Misamis Occidental also brought stories that call for justice – one being the death of community broadcaster Juan Jumalon, who was killed while livestreaming inside his house in Calamba town on Nov. 5.

His death prompted a series of condemnations from media groups, public officials, and even Marcos himself.

Suspects were identified, and murder charges were filed.

The incident led Gov. Henry Oaminal to direct the provincial police and the Police Regional Office (PRO-10) to arrest the culprits and revisit the investigation of other assassination attempts.

These included the Oct. 15 blast in Clarin which hit his convoy; the Oct. 23 shooting of Calamba Municipal engineer Jopson Baones; and Oct. 28 grenade-throwing incident at the house of Calamba Mayor Luisito Villanueva.

Almost a month after Jumalon’s murder, the province will again mourn the death of Riza Ramos Daniel, 49, who was killed in a blast inside the Mindanao State University-Main Campus gymnasium in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur on Dec. 3.

Daniel was the mother of El Dritz, who was also injured in the blast, both of Tangub City. El Dritz was a third-year Computer Studies student at MSU-Main. Daniel decided to work in Marawi City to be closer to her son.

MSU-Marawi incident

The incident in MSU-Main brought the provincial government of Lanao del Sur and the Marawi City government together to coordinate with the police and military.

Within the week, the Islamic State militants claimed the attack, followed by the arrest of suspects Kadapi Mimbesa and Arsani Membisa, who are said to have links with local terrorist group, Dawlah Islamiyah. Both had prior arrest warrants for murder and kidnapping charges.

Other than Daniel, the three other fatalities were students Janine Arenas and Junrey Barbante, and faculty member Evangeline Aromin. The blast also injured some 50 people.

Change of command, anti-insurgency

Meanwhile, this year saw major changes in the region’s military and police leadership.

Maj. Gen. Jose Ma. Cuerpo II replaced Maj. Gen. Wilbur Mamawag as the commander of the Philippine Army’s 4th Infantry Division (4ID) in March. Brig. Gen. Ricardo Layug also replaced Brig. Gen. Lawrence Coop as PRO-10 director in October.

As soon the two assumed office, they had their hands full in continuing the mandates of the national government in securing the peace and order situation in the region.

The 4ID under Cuerpo continued its operations against New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, and even on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, troops under the 403rd Infantry Brigade killed 10 rebels in Bukidnon.

Cuerpo said the Army has maintained its position of allowing NPA rebels to surrender or face a military operation, wherever they may be in Northern Mindanao and Caraga regions.

PRO-10 also accepted rebel surrenderers who brought in firearms and ammunition. Those who surrendered were assisted in the programs of the Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.

On anti-drugs, Layug said the police has continued its anti-illegal drug campaign with a series of buy-busts in partnership with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.

With the introduction of “Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan” of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, PRO-10 followed suit in promoting a holistic approach to addressing illegal drug issues.

Village polls

Layug and Cuerpo would again have their hands full in the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections (BSKE) that were finally held on Oct. 30 after several years of delay.

Police and military troops were deployed to keep the peace.

While reports of vote buying by the local chapter of the National Citizens; Movement for Free Elections, and tensions among supporters in Nunungan, Lanao del Norte, both PRO-10 and 4ID reported a “generally peaceful” BSKE.

On election gun ban operations, PRO-10 reported that from August 28 to October 30, a total of 77 operations were launched that resulted in the arrest of 90 persons, confiscation of 55 firearms, 41 deadly weapons, 367 rounds of ammunition, and an explosive.

But in Lanao del Sur province, which is part of the Bangsamoro Region, the BSKE was marred with heated confrontations among political supporters, voting delays in precincts, and occasional violence that led to a death in the town of Butig.

Rice, economy

The limited rice supply and increase in its prices prompted the national government to issue Executive Order 39, which put a ceiling on prices and provided assistance to affected farmers and small-scale retailers.

Bukidnon province, the region’s food basket, was also affected by drought that some had attributed to the effects of the El Niño phenomenon being experienced in the country.

However, according to the Department of Agriculture, the lean months between August and September would be offset by the fresh harvests that came in October.

And so it did, as the Philippine Statistics Authority Region 10 released its monthly inflation reports and regional economic status in the following month, showing a rosy picture of the regional economy. The National Economic and Development Authority-Region 10 forecasts a stable overall economy for 2023.

Based on the 2022 gross regional domestic product, NEDA-10 Director Mylah Faye Aurora Cariño said Northern Mindanao achieved a GRDP of 7.2 percent or PHP935 billion, compared to the 6.3 percent growth in the previous year, which was impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. (By Nef Luczon/PNA)

NorMin ‘service-oriented’ contributor in PH economy: NEDA

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (December 14, 2023, 3:33 pm) – Northern Mindanao region is hailed as a “service-oriented” economy, with its services sector posting a 54.5 percent contribution to its 2022 gross regional domestic product (GRDP), the regional National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-10) office reported Thursday

In a statement, NEDA-10 director Mylah Faye Aurora Cariño said the services sector contributed PHP509.9 billion in gross value added in the region and a growth rate of 10.1 percent from the previous 2021-2022 rate.
“That includes tourism, accommodation services, and other service-related subsectors,” Cariño said.
Northern Mindanao’s GRDP increased by 7.2 percent or PHP935 billion, compared to the 6.3 percent growth in the previous year, which was impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
“That is why we are hoping that there will be no more pandemic because it will affect the mobility of our industry, especially in the services sector,” she said.
Also included in the growth drivers in the 2022 GRDP were the industry sector which covered 25.6 percent or PHP238.8 billion; and the agriculture sector which has 19.9 percent of the share or worth PHP186.6 billion in gross value.
Out of the five provinces and two chartered cities in the region, Bukidnon province remains the capital of the agriculture industry in Northern Mindanao.
Meanwhile, this city remains the top contributor to the regional economy of Northern Mindanao, according to the data presented by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
PSA data indicated that of the PHP935.3 billion value of Northern Mindanao’s gross domestic product in 2022, this city accounted for the largest share of 28 percent, followed by Bukidnon province at 26.6 percent, while Misamis Oriental in third at 16.8 percent.
The PPA measures the economic performance of the provinces and highly urbanized cities of the region. (Ercel Maandig and Nef Luczon/PNA)

Northern Mindanao crafts six-year plan to reduce high poverty incidence

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines — The gross regional domestic product of Northern Mindanao grew by 7.2% in 2022, indicating recovery from the economic slump caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, residents of the region have yet to feel this improvement, according to an official from the state’s planning agency

“Poverty remains the biggest challenge,” said Mylah Faye Aurora Cariño of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in Northern Mindanao during the June 21 launch of the Northern Mindanao Regional Development Plan (NMRDP) for 2023-2028.
Cariño said Northern Mindanao had previously reduced poverty levels by 15 percentage points, and the six-year NMRDP aims to further reduce the poverty incidence among the population from 26.2% in 2021 to 15% by the end of 2028 and among families by 10%.
The 21-chapter NMRDP, developed through a series of consultations and focused group discussions among various stakeholders in the region, includes a list of 2,045 identified projects starting this year until 2028.
The objective is to increase Northern Mindanao’s ratio of hospital bed capacity to one bed per 1,000 patients by 2028 from the current one per 2,328
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She said these projects aim to stimulate economic activities, create jobs, and provide sources of livelihood, requiring over P3 trillion in public and private investments during the six years.
“The 2022 data is still incomplete until now; hence we used the 2021 figures,” said Cariño, who also serves as the vice-chairperson of the Regional Development Council (RDC) in Northern Mindanao.
Lanao del Norte Governor Imelda Dimaporo, the chairperson of the RDC, said the completion of the Panguil Bay Bridge project, connecting her province to Tangub City, Misamis Occidental, would facilitate the transport of goods, delivery of basic services, and movement of people.
Dimaporo said the development of Cagayan de Oro into a metropolis within the planning period would accelerate the region’s goal of becoming an international gateway in Mindanao by 2040.
The planned Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro aims to expand the region’s urban center to include 14 localities from the city’s nearby provinces.
The RDC-X aims to transform Northern Mindanao’s five provinces and nine cities into a “leading agricultural hub and major industrial, tourism, and trade center.”
NEDA Undersecretary Carlos Bernardo Abad Santos described the NMRDP as “meticulously crafted” and “aligned seamlessly” with the Philippine Development Plan for 2023 to 2028.
“This plan signifies not an end but rather the dawn of a crucial phase,” he told development council members.
He said strategies must be translated into tangible actions and continually evaluated while also addressing challenges such as inflationary pressures, climate change, and the spread of animal diseases. The region, he noted, has already become a major producer of livestock and poultry products.
Abad Santos acknowledged the region’s recovery from negative economic growth during the pandemic, placing it just behind the National Capital Region and the Cordillera Autonomous Region.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed that the region’s economy expanded by 7.2% last year, surpassing the 6.3% growth in 2021 and the 5.6% before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. This growth translated to an increase of P62.49 billion in the region’s gross domestic product.
The PSA-10 said a family of five requires an average of P11,920 per month to fulfill their basic food and non-food necessities in 2021, which corresponds to the poverty threshold in Northern Mindanao.
According to the report, the poverty incidence in the region was 26.2%, affecting approximately 1.72 million individuals that year.
During the first semester of 2021, Lanao del Norte showed the highest poverty incidence at 39.1%, affecting approximately 62,900 families. In contrast, Cagayan de Oro had the lowest poverty incidence of 11.6%, affecting around 22,600 families.
Although Bukidnon’s poverty incidence stood at 36.9%, it recorded the largest number of poor population and low-income families in the region. The province had 115,000 families or 605,500 individuals living in poverty, showed the PSA-X report. (Uriel Quilinquing/Rappler)

Mindanao economy posts 7.2% GRDP growth in 2022

DAVAO CITY – Mindanao has once more demonstrated its worth as a key contributor to the country’s economic growth by posting 7.2 percent Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) last year

In a statement on May 03, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) pointed to the “much-improved peace and order” situation in Mindanao in recent years as one of the main contributing factors to the island region’s economic growth.

Despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, MinDA pointed out that Mindanao has shown resilience and adaptability in its economic activities, thereby attracting more investors and tourists to the area.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), in a separate statement Tuesday, noted Mindanao’s remarkable economic standing in 2022 as only slightly lower than the national GDP of 7.6 percent.

Among the regions in Mindanao, the PSA said Davao Region led the pack with an impressive 8.15 percent growth rate, while Caraga trailed behind at 5.9 percent.

The other expenses in Mindanao—Regions 9, 10, 12, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM)—also recorded positive growth rates ranging from 6.59 percent to 7.5 percent.

Still, MinDA chair Maria Belen Acosta said there is still much work to be done to sustain and further accelerate Mindanao’s growth trajectory.

Acosta cited the continued growth of the agriculture and fisheries sectors, the development of the infrastructure and tourism industries, and increasing investments in the region remains as crucial factors for progress in the area.

“Overall, the strong economic performance of Mindanao in 2022 is a promising sign for the region’s future, and it is hoped that this growth will continue in the years to come,” she said. (Che Palicte/PNA)