Northern Mindanao region is hailed as a “service-oriented” economy, with its services sector posting a 54.5 percent contribution to its 2022 gross regional domestic product (GRDP), the regional National Economic Development Authority (NEDA-10) office reported Thursday.

In a statement, NEDA-10 director Mylah Faye Aurora Cariño said the services sector contributed PHP509.9 billion in gross value added in the region and a growth rate of 10.1 percent from the previous 2021-2022 rate.

“That includes tourism, accommodation services, and other service-related subsectors,” Cariño said.

Northern Mindanao’s GRDP increased by 7.2 percent or PHP935 billion, compared to the 6.3 percent growth in the previous year, which was impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

“That is why we are hoping that there will be no more pandemic because it will affect the mobility of our industry, especially in the services sector,” she said.

Also included in the growth drivers in the 2022 GRDP were the industry sector which covered 25.6 percent or PHP238.8 billion; and the agriculture sector which has 19.9 percent of the share or worth PHP186.6 billion in gross value.

Out of the five provinces and two chartered cities in the region, Bukidnon province remains the capital of the agriculture industry in Northern Mindanao.

Meanwhile, this city remains the top contributor to the regional economy of Northern Mindanao, according to the data presented by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

PSA data indicated that of the PHP935.3 billion value of Northern Mindanao’s gross domestic product in 2022, this city accounted for the largest share of 28 percent, followed by Bukidnon province at 26.6 percent, while Misamis Oriental in third at 16.8 percent.

The PPA measures the economic performance of the provinces and highly urbanized cities of the region. (PNA)