OPENING REMARKS By ARSENIO M. BALISACAN Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning Mindanao Development Forum 1 February 2013 Davao City

Good morning!

I am honored to have been invited by the Mindanao Development Authority to deliver the opening message for this Mindanao Development Forum.  As Secretary for Socioeconomic Planning and NEDA Director-General, I duly recognize that among my key responsibilities is to bring regional and local development aspirations into the fold of national policy making. This forum enables us to look more closely at the issues in the Mindanao region as well as your corresponding concerns and recommendations that shall further be articulated in the agenda of the Philippine Development Forum on Monday and Tuesday, February 4 and 5.

The PDF is the primary mechanism for policy dialogue among all key development partners, particularly in proposing specific interventions that will enable us to achieve the goal of the Philippine Development Plan, that is, a rapid, sustained and inclusive growth for the country, with particular attention to the poor and most vulnerable sectors of our society.

This year, the PDF is set in a timely environment of optimism, given the high economic performance that we have achieved as a country for the year of 2012. As announced just yesterday, the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 6.8 percent in the fourth quarter, paving the way for the full-year GDP estimate to post a broad-based growth of 6.6 percent, higher than the initial 5-6 percent target. The increase was fuelled by the robust performance of the Services sector led by Trade and Real Estate, Renting & Business Activities, particularly the BPO industry, tourism as well as the substantial improvements of Manufacturing and Construction.

While data on the gross regional domestic product for 2012 is still unavailable, the 2011 figures show that the fastest growing regions are Caraga (9.6%), Central Visayas (7.9%), and Central Luzon (7.5%) with NCR, and its adjoining regions of Calabarzon and Central Luzon contributing almost 60 percent to GDP. Mindanao and the Visayas contribute 14% and 12.7%, respectively, and this contribution can be expected to expand further as we set our sights to maximizing the potential of the region.

I have always believed that Mindanao has so much economic potential that could spur higher growth for our country and contribute immensely in the attainment of the inclusive development agenda. To achieve this, we must address the critical constraints to this goal, as well as identify new players in the regions in order to increase and spread growth more equitably.

Among Mindanao’s strong potentials lie in agri-industry, being a leading exporter of rubber, pineapple, banana, coffee and organic agriculture products, which command high demand in the global market. National government has initiated market facilitation activities including market matching to assist agriculture growers in entering in agreements with buyers and in opening more markets for their products such as United States, Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Middle East and the Gulf Region, and parts of the EU. We recognize the need to improve our productivity which will require investments in power and connectivity, particularly rural roads, irrigation, and research and development, including those that will make agriculture more adaptive to risks posed by climate change disturbances.  

Mindanao’s rich and diverse cultural heritage, natural attractions and increasingly attractive facilities have made its tourism industry another major growth driver. Its current share of 17% in the number of tourist arrivals in the country for 2011 can be further increased by developing efforts on tourism circuits that will highlight what the Mindanao region has to offer, and by promoting coordinated and harmonized infrastructure facilities to ensure better mobility of people, goods and services.

The signing of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement in October last year provides us with vital opportunities to accelerate development in Mindanao. We need to approach this Framework Agreement not only as a political exercise but also as an economic imperative. With the improvements in the peace and order situation and the stability that it promises, we must take advantage of the situation to get these economic activities going in the region. The President is indeed very serious about setting this Framework in motion, and I can see the sincerity and commitment of the various players, both from the public and private sectors. We want to make sure that there is proper coordination among the different stakeholders, and that critical opportunities are not missed in order to realize lasting peace and development in the region.

We recognize that Mindanao has faced many challenges through the years. Over the recent months, natural calamities have beset the region, leaving behind significant loss to life and property in areas where typhoons of such magnitude were once rare occurrences. Despite these hurdles, our resiliency as a people pushes us on, and we strive to rebuild our communities with better capacities and more adaptive to the changing conditions.

One of the most binding constraints to realizing Mindanao’s economic potential is the energy situation. During the peak of the El Niño phenomenon in 2010, some areas experienced 8 to 10 hours of power interruptions which has severely affected business operations, not to mention home, school, medical and other activities. Based on the 2012 Mindanao Power Supply-Demand Outlook of the Department of Energy, the Mindanao grid will require a capacity addition of at least 394 MW over the next few years to meet the growth in peak demand and required reserve margin until 2016. There is also a need to put up power capacity additions to serve off-grid areas in Mindanao. On a national scale, we continue to develop new power sources, including clean and alternative fuel sources that will support the requirements of the economy, particularly as we move towards a stronger and revitalized manufacturing industry.

 Other infrastructure requirements must also be addressed, particularly roads that will connect our urban areas with production pockets to ensure the smooth flow of goods and mobility of people. Furthermore, as we also set our eyes on the renewed interest in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia- Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), we must expand and rehabilitate our sea ports and other key junctions, in order to facilitate efficient exchange and coordination with our neighbors.

In addressing these challenges, promising opportunities are well within reach for lasting growth and development in Mindanao. I believe that the participants of this forum have the expertise, influence and utmost desire to help achieve the vision of a progressive and peaceful Mindanao. The national government, together with the local government units, private sector, our development partners and other stakeholders must work together to find effective ways to actualize the inclusive development agenda in the region, so that everyone is able to contribute and partake in this growth and development process.

We hope that beyond this forum, we can count on your support in the overall effort to move forward. We need to continue working hard and remain hopeful that we will not miss this window of opportunity for Mindanao and for the country as a whole.

Before I end, I would like to congratulate the organizers of this event, the Mindanao Development Authority and the World Bank, for successfully gathering in one venue the policy makers, donor agencies, and various stakeholders to discuss how we can more effectively bring lasting development in Mindanao.

I wish you all a productive day ahead.

Daghang salamat at maayong buntag.

M.R. No. 2013-014                                                                                   

04 February 2013