A tiger economy is the economy of a country which undergoes rapid economic growth, usually accompanied by an increase in the standard of living. The term was originally used for the Four Asian Tigers (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore) as tigers are important in Asian symbolism, which also inspired the Tiger Cub Economies (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines).
In the Philippines, the election of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to presidency on May 2016 elections has been a historical breakthrough for Mindanao. It has placed Davao City and the whole island region at the center of the universe. Then came to prominence the local saying “Bisaya na pud!” as domestic and foreign industry players are constantly lured by such charisma brought by the Southern pride.
With these promising potentials, the Department of Trade and Industry Regional Office XI (DTI-XI) as the implementing agency plays a vital role in ensuring the welfare of Davaoeños through their initiatives to expand trade, industries and investments as the means to generate jobs and raise income for entrepreneurs.
Investment surge
During the Preliminary Annual Performance 2016 report and media interface of DTI-XI at Pinnacle Hotel on December 21 attended by DTI-XI executives and provincial directors, the agency has brought good news about the investments Davao Region which surged to more than 60 percent in 2016.
In a data given by Board of Investments (BOI)-Davao reported by DTI, more than P7.6 billion was invested in the region as of October 2016, higher than the 2015 total investment of more than P4.6 billion.
For the regional breakdown, Davao City recorded the highest investment with P2.52 billion or 33 percent of the total investment followed by Davao del Sur with P2.24 b.illion or 29 percent and Davao del Norte as third highest with P2.06 billion or 27 percent. The rest of the bulk comes from Compostella Valley, Davao Oriental and Davao Occidental respectively.
San Miguel Foods, Inc. (Davao del Sur) from the manufacturing cluster recorded the highest investment of P2.24 billion which generated 307 jobs followed by Davao International Container Terminal, Inc. (Davao del Norte) from transportation & storage cluster with P1.88 billion, Damosa Land, Inc. (Davao City) of the real estate activities cluster with P596 million, FTC Group of Companies Corporation (Davao City) of the accommodation & food service activities cluster with P540 million, Euro Hydro Power (Asia) Holdings, Inc. (Compostela Valley) of the electricity, gas, steam & air conditioning supply cluster with P517 million, PNX Chelsea Shipping Corporation (Davao City) of transportation & storage cluster with P507 million, AVLB ASIA PACIFIC Conglomerate, Inc. (Davao City) of manufacturing cluster with P500 million, Grupo San Pedro Realty Corporation (Davao City) of real estate activities cluster with P372 million, Anflo Banana Corporation (Davao Oriental) of agriculture, forestry & fishing cluster with P342 million, and Cocohaus Corporation (Davao del Norte) of manufacturing cluster with P177 million of investments.
Annual targets achieved, surpassed
With the active involvement of if agency’s officials and staffs as well as the cooperation of its public and private stakeholders, DTI-XI has exceeded most of its 2016 target services rendered.
In fact, the target for job generation, MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises) assisted, domestic sales generated and client satisfaction has reached more than 100 percent of the expected turn-out.
This is as of November 2016.
For most of the provincial directors, the achievement could be rooted from the skills training, facilitation of investment, and convergence of the agency and stakeholders such as local government units (LGUs), non-government organizations (NGOs) and institutions such as the academe.
DTI-Davao Oriental officer-in-charge Jose L. Calub pointed out the success of the provincial office was facilitated by the establishment of Provincial MSME Development Council as well as the initiatives and financial assistance from the DTI Regional Office.
For jobs generated, DTI set a target of 32,000 but achieved 33,718 or 105 percent wherein 3,434 of this are Shared Service Facilities (SSF) jobs, and the rest are MSMEs who benefitted from loans, investments and assistance to large enterprises through training, etc.
For MSMEs assisted, DTI set a target of 9,500 but reached a total of 9,835 or 105 percent; almost half (55 percent) of which or 5,370 are new businesses while 45 percent or 4,465 are existing businesses.
For Domestic Sales, DTI has reported P1,336.01M or 111 percent higher than the P1,200M target. This was generated from trade fair (6%), market matching & facilitation (4%), Pasalubong Center (4%) and monitored sales (86%).
For consumer complaints, 98 percent was resolved within the prescribed time or 103 percent based on target of 95 percent. Out of the 168 consumer complaints received for mediation, 164 (98 percent) complaints were resolved within 10 working days. All of the 5 (100 percent) consumer complaints received for arbitration were resolved within 20 working days.
According to DTI, the natures of most of these complaints were product quality imperfection, product & service warranty, unfair and unconscionable sales act and practice, etc.
Meanwhile, the agency has recorded a client satisfaction feedback of 98 percent (11,484/11,751) or 115 percent higher based on the target of 85 percent.
For other services, DTI may not have surpassed their target but data showed that the agency has achieved the following: 99.83 percent or 14,975 out of the 15,000 business name registered, 86 percent or 12 out of 14 Negosyo Centers launched, and 99 percent or 145 out of 156 Shared Service Facilities (SSFs) provided.
DTI-XI Regional Director Maria Belinda Q. Ambi CESO V pointed out that aside from the fact that the President is coming from Davao City, Duterte’s socio-economic agenda has been a factor on the boost of investment particularly his agenda on inclusive growth and MSME prioritization.
Meanwhile, Asst. Regional Director Edwin O. Banquerigo said 2016 is “much better than 2015” because of the key projects launched in the region.
Year for industry clusters
2016 is also the year for the region’s priority industry clusters as big ticket events were conducted in the city such as the Kakao Konek 2016: Asia Pacific Cacao Conference, National Coffee Summit and National Banana Congress which gathered domestic and foreign stakeholders and served as platform for local farmers to showcase their product for and entrepreneurs to learn and earn at the same time.
Aside from that, other initiatives that were taken by DTI were spearheading the technology benchmarking mission of Davao Oriental Rubber Industry Cluster Stakeholders at R. Testado’s Farm in Pres. Roxas, Cotabato Province which resulted to the establishment of a village-type rubber sheet production facility in Sitio Malig, Brgy. Don Mariano Marcos, Lupon, Davao Oriental.
MSME development
Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) comprise 99 percent of the country’s total labor force, according to DTI. Thus, the president puts a strong emphasis on the prioritization of MSMEs in his 10-point socioeconomic agenda,
DTI backs this initiative by the launching of 12 Negosyo Centers in the region which is 86 percent of 14 NCs target to be established. Negosyo Centers serve as the training ground for those who want to engage in the business sector. As of November, Negosyo Centers were established in San Isidro, Davao Oriental (Apr 20), Gov Generoso, Davao Oriental (June 27), Malita, Davao Occidental (July 13), Baganga, Davao Oriental (Aug 8), Davao del Sur Provincial NC (August 16), Compostela, CompostelaValley (Sept 13), Padada, Davao del Sur (Sept 22), Toril, Davao City (Sept 23), Tagum City, Davao del Norte (Sept 29), Monkayo, CompostelaValley (Sept 30) , Bansalan, Davao del Sur (Oct 27), and Lupon, Davao Oriental (Nov 8).
For Region XI MSMEs, the big ticket events for this year include Negosyo, Konsyumer, Atbp. on April 25 to 27 at SMX Lanang Premier, Davao City, National MSME Summit 2016 on November 10-11 and the Kapatid, Angat Lahat! launching October 7, 2016 Marco Polo Hotel, Davao City SMX Lanang Premier, Davao City.
Gearing for global competitiveness
Davao Region is also geared towards global competitiveness as DTI attended the 1st BIMP-EAGA Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Forum, shared and set standards on TVET qualifications in order to conform with the global requirements and address the needs of its stakeholders as well as encouraged multi-sector collaboration in technical education, training, and vocational industries within the sub-region through the sub-region’s TVET leaders.
DTI also presided the 5th BIMP-EAGA Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) Cluster Meeting which finalized the cluster goals, objectives, strategies, and realistic projects that will be included in the BIMP-EAGA Vision (BEV) 2025. The agency also discussed cross-cutting issues with the BIMP-EAGA Agri-business Cluster. Moreover, DTI participated in the BIMP-EAGA 25th Senior Officials Meeting and 20th Ministerial Meeting and Business Networking Session as well as endorsed the BIMP-EAGA Vision (BEV) 2025.
Nowhere but up
With the overwhelming interest shown by potential investors as well as the unyielding support of the local government units, non-government organizations as well as the academe, surely, the projection of Davao Region’s development is nowhere but up.
