NORTHERN Mindanao has officially entered the trillion-peso economy club, becoming one of only six regions in the Philippines to surpass the
trillion-mark in total economic output.
This milestone was highlighted during the
Second Semester 2025 Northern Mindanao Socioeconomic Media Forum on 25
November 2025 at N Hotel, Kauswagan, Cagayan de Oro City.
The region’s total output grew from PHP984 billion in 2023 to PHP1.04 trillion in 2024,
reflecting its growing significance as a key contributor to national growth.
Cagayan de Oro City and Bukidnon remained the region’s top two growth drivers, contributing 28.3
percent and 25.7 percent of the total regional output in 2024.
In her presentation, Mylah Faye Aurora B. Cariño, CESO II, DEPDev-X regional director and Regional Development Council of Northern Mindanao (RDC-X) vice hairperson, emphasized the need for coherent planning and budgeting to
sustain the region’s economic momentum.
“The region met half of its headline targets for 2024. This shows that while we made
significant progress in some areas, there are still gaps that call for more focused and targeted policy actions,” Cariño noted.
Halfway through the implementation of the Northern Mindanao Regional Development
Plan 2023-2028, Northern Mindanao’s economy showed mixed results across sectors.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector grew by only 0.05 percent due to El Niño but remained the country’s second-largest agricultural producer.
The industry sector grew strongly by 7.5 percent led by manufacturing and construction while services, the largest contributor to the economy, expanded by 7.4 percent, supported by tourism
and related activities.
Social and labor indicators showed modest gains.
Poverty incidence fell to 25.3 percent in 2023 while poverty among families dropped to 18.4 percent.
However, both remained above regional targets and the region continued to record the highest
poverty threshold in Mindanao.
