Vice President Sara Duterte and Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte called for stronger economic ties between Mindanao and Borneo, urging governments and the private sector to turn geographic proximity and shared history into concrete opportunities for trade, investment and jobs.
Speaking at the Davao-Borneo Growth Corridor Forum 2026 at the SMX Convention Center at SM Lanang Premier in Davao City on Friday, the Duterte siblings stressed the need to move beyond infrastructure and connectivity toward creating actual economic opportunities for communities.
In her speech, “Forging a Unified Future: Transforming Borders into Opportunities in Mindanao and Borneo,” the vice president highlighted the stories of two women whose lives, she said, demonstrate the consequences when borders restrict opportunities.
One was a Sabah trader who had moved goods across Malaysia, Tawi-Tawi and Zamboanga but eventually left for the Gulf after kidnappings led governments to ban the trade her family had pursued for generations.
The other was a young Tausug from Sulu who learned Bahasa through Malaysian television and dreamed of becoming a video editor but left Mindanao because she could not find enough opportunities.
“Two women, two journeys, two reminders of what happens when talent meets a border it cannot safely cross. An economy that has no room for it yet. We are here to decide what kind of region we want to build,” the vice president said.
Duterte noted that the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), established 32 years ago, now covers 82.68 million people with a combined economic output of $1.34 trillion.
“That is no longer a peripheral opportunity. That is an economic force,” she said.
She called for four shifts: from proximity to partnership, complementarity to investment, connectivity to economic value, and partnership to action.
“Let us make cross-border cooperation not an occasional project, but an everyday reality,” Duterte said.
She said Mindanao’s agriculture, tourism and growing market complement Borneo’s capital, industry and logistics.
“These are not competing pieces. These are pieces of the same puzzle,” she said.
The vice president also stressed that infrastructure must translate into economic activity.
“We talk about infrastructure as though the road, the port, the airport is the destination. It is not. A port only matters when a farmer can reach a market. A shipping route matters when a trader can cross the sea safely. Infrastructure without use is just concrete,” she said.
She cited 265 priority infrastructure projects worth $174.6 billion and urged stronger border systems, safer sea routes, clearer customs procedures and the revival of legitimate maritime trade.
“Government cannot build this opportunity alone. Business leaders, investors, this is yours to drive. This is what growth should mean to us. Not just more cargo, more investments, bigger numbers, but more reasons to stay, and more ways for talent to find a market without leaving home,” she said.
Meanwhile, Mayor Baste underscored Davao City’s historical role in BIMP-EAGA, which was formed in the city 32 years ago.
“Davao City is 1,218 kilometers from Borneo, separated by the Sulu and Sulawesi Seas; but just like the greater BIMP-EAGA region, we share in our Austronesian heritage, our diverse flora and fauna, and our maritime trade history. And so today we come together to connect and collaborate; because we recognize that in this global economy, in order for communities and nations to grow, there is a need to forge partnerships and build linkages,” he said.
He urged government and industry leaders to pursue initiatives that expand investment and cross-border trade.
“As government and industry leaders, it is our shared responsibility to pursue initiatives that open investment opportunities for our respective communities. Strengthening cross-border trade not only boosts our local economies; it also accelerates socioeconomic development in the region,” he said.
He also invited participants to pursue business-to-business and business-to-government partnerships and explore Davao City’s investment opportunities.
“Through the partnerships we forge today, let us shape a shared future marked by prosperity, stability, and peace, a future that extends far beyond the Davao-Borneo Corridor and the EAGA, and into the rest of the world,” he said.
Carrying the theme “Forging Partnerships, Shaping Shared Futures,” the forum brought together stakeholders from Mindanao, Sabah, Sarawak, Kalimantan and Brunei Darussalam to strengthen regional economic ties.
The forum focuses on moving Mindanao-Borneo relations from geographic proximity to economic connectivity, covering investment, trade, tourism, infrastructure, technology and human capital.
It highlights the complementary strengths of Mindanao and Borneo and seeks to translate these into concrete business, investment and institutional partnerships through business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) engagements.
The initiative is anchored on the broader BIMP-EAGA framework and its Vision 2035, while the Davao-Borneo Corridor Action Statement 2030 will provide a framework for continued cooperation in investment, technology, market development and other areas.
