The Regional Development Council XI, during its 2nd quarter meeting approved the CY 2022 1st Quarter Regional Economic Situationer (QRES) Report. The QRES is a regular report that presents a performance assessment of the regional economy during a reference period by highlighting selected socioeconomic indicators. It also provides a development outlook for the succeeding period for the information and reference of stakeholders.

The highlights of the Report are as follows:

Performance

  • The average quarterly inflation rates of Davao Region recorded an uptrend from 2.7% in 1Q 2021 to 4.8% in 1Q 2022 or a 2.1 percentage point difference over the span of one year.  By commodity group, there were increased prices for 4 major commodities in January to March 2022, namely: including food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, transport and housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels.
  • The Region also posted 95.2% employment rate, higher by 0.6 ppt from the employment rate one year ago. There were also approximately 2.09 million employed persons in the Region. The rates suggest a favorable employment situation in the Region.
  • Total value of investments from projects registered with the Board of Investments amounted to PHP 355.6 million in 1Q 2022, or a decrease of 80% from the investments recorded during same period last year. The registered projects were in hydroelectric power, plastics production, ICT-BPO, and banana processing.
  • For agriculture, higher production levels were recorded for palay and corn, hog, chicken, cattle, and aquaculture during the first quarter of 2022. The increases can be attributed to rising consumer demand with the resumption of economic activities.
  • Tourism industry continues its recovery amid the COVID-19 pandemic. During the first quarter of 2022, total tourist arrivals in Davao Region surged by 78%, from around 247,000 in 1Q 2021 to 439,000 in 1Q 2022.
  • The Region’s total crime incidents decreased by 14.2%, from 7,269 incidents in 1Q 2021 to 6,231 incidents in 1Q 2022.

Development Outlook 

  • An uptick in inflation rate is expected due to the elevated prices of food and petroleum products experienced starting in February 2022 due to the spike in oil prices in the world market brought about by the Russia-Ukraine conflict.   
  • Employment is expected to increase due to resumption of businesses and other economic activities with the economic recovery of the Region
  • Agricultural production will continue to post moderate gains in the coming quarters, barring extreme weather conditions, as the economic recovery of Davao Region further unfolds. There will be increases in consumer demand for a variety of local agricultural commodities as prices of imported ones continue to rise. The presence of the ASF and Avian flu remain to be a concern in the sector.
  • There is more optimistic outlook for the Region’s tourism industry in 2022. It is expected that tourists will gain more confidence in visiting Davao Region destinations, due to the strengthened health protocols of the LGUs together with the tourism establishments and destinations.
  • Maintenance of peace, order and public security will remain a major priority of the Region, thus crime incidents will be swiftly responded to and solved.

The full report of the CY 2022 First Quarter Regional Economic Situationer can be accessed through this link: https://nro11.neda.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/CY-2022-1Q-QRES.pdf