Cagayan de Oro economy bounces back to pre-pandemic level

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Cagayan de Oro has recovered from the revenue slump brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said the city’s gross domestic product (GDP) started bouncing back, beginning at 9.6% in 2021, a rebound from the -8.8% decline in 2020. The PSA has yet to release its data on the city’s 2022 GDP.

Julieta Nacario, PSA-Misamis Oriental officer-in-charge, said on Monday, December 5, that the city’s GDP in 2021 reached P239.25 billion, from the 2020 level of P218.3 billion.

She said it was slightly lower than Cagayan de Oro’s pre-pandemic GDP of P239.27 billion in 2019.

Nacario said wholesale and retail businesses, and vehicle repair services helped propel Cagayan de Oro’s growth.

Local industries contributed 12.9% while services registered at 8.7%, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing collectively posted a 2.3% growth in 2021.

Cagayan de Oro’s manufacturing industry contributed to the city’s GDP growth in 2021 at 2.3%.

Accommodation, food services, financial, and insurance activities each contributed 0.6% to the growth, Nacario said.

But Cagayan de Oro, the capital of Northern Mindanao, is not alone in showing an economic rebound, two years after the start of the pandemic.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the Philippine economy has remained robust and was in the position to sustain its growth momentum.

NEDA said the Philippine economy expanded by 7.7% during the first three quarters of 2022, an indicator that the country would hit the government’s projected 6.5% to 7.5% target growth in 2021.

Domestic consumption drove the economy’s recovery and growth, and the easing of public health restrictions and resumption of face-to-face classes spurred the growth of tourism, industry, services, and other sectors severely affected by the pandemic, NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said on Monday.

“While our key economic indicators remain promising, socioeconomic scarring from the pandemic is expected to linger unless effectively addressed,” Balisacan told the House committee on economic affairs on Monday.

Balisacan said the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 for economic transformation would “reinvigorate job creation and accelerate poverty reduction by steering the economy back to its high-growth path.” 

The development plan is scheduled to be presented to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before New Year’s Day. – Rappler.com