‘BOUNTIFUL CAGAYAN VALLEY’ HOPES TO LURE INVESTORS
SANTIAGO CITY, ISABELA—The Regional Development Council (RDC) of Region II recently launched its new branding campaign, “Bountiful Cagayan Valley Region,” and 2012 Investment Guidebook to promote the region as an ideal investment destination in the country.
“The five provinces of Region II are one in building up investments and improving the economy of the whole Cagayan Valley Region,” said RDC II Acting Chair Mary Anne R. Darauay during the media launch.
Darauay, who is also officer-in-charge of the Region II Office of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), said that the initiative is in response to the region’s desire of promoting its rich and diverse investment potentials. “We hope to attract local and international investors and draw businesses that will generate jobs and consequently reduce poverty in Cagayan Valley,” she said.
“The decision of coming up with a unified regional branding and an investment guidebook was made possible by contributions of RDC II members, especially the provincial governments and Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), and their commitment to promote the region as a whole. We will try our best to generate funds for the promotion of Cagayan Valley Region to be known not only nationally but globally,” she said.
Positioning itself as the country’s Northern Gateway, Prime Water Resource and Grains Producer, Cagayan Valley’s Regional Development Plan (RDP) 2011-2016 targets to strengthen and expand the industries of grains processing, manufacturing, bioenergy development and multiindustrial clusters.
Darauay said that this will be achieved by luring investors to pour in fresh capital in the region’s five provinces namely Batanes, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino.
“Ours is a truly bountiful region, with rich agricultural areas, forestlands and grasslands for industrial and commercial expansions. We want to make these investors appreciate the region’s bounty and beauty, and eventually make them come over and invest in the region,” said the RDC Chair.
Cagayan Valley is located at the northernmost part of the Philippines, making it an ideal spot for aggressive trading and tourism promotion. The region also supplies the grain requirement of the National Capital Region and is still capable of further trade with its neighboring provinces.
The region posted the biggest jump in economic growth in 2011 with a 6.5-percentage-point increase, as its gross regional domestic product increased by 5.4 percent in 2011 from negative 1.1 percent in 2010. Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing industry drove Cagayan Valley’s output growth last year, exceeding its RDP target of 4.13 percent for 2011.
Complementing the region’s comparative advantage in the agriculture sector, the industry and service sectors are also seen as instrumental in the region’s efficiency and productivity.
Investments in Cagayan Valley grew by an average of 40 percent annually, with the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) contributing majority of total investments. The interactive gaming industry continues to be CEZA’s prime investment attraction contributing more than half of the port’s capital investment.
M.R. No. 2012-088
23 December 2012
