AN administration lawmaker yesterday urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and Congress to allocate more funds for Mindanao amid a Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) report that the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and Zamboanga Peninsula are the two regions lagging behind in economic expansion.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez proposed that the President realign part of this year’s national budget to Mindanao from savings and other appropriation sources.
“This early, I am appealing to President BBM and Congress to apportion more funds for Mindanao in this year’s budget and the 2026 national spending program so that Mindanao can catch up with Visayas and Luzon in economic progress,” he said in a statement.
Rodriguez lamented that historically, Mindanao receives a smaller portion of the national budget compared to Luzon, which includes Metro Manila, and the Visayas.
“That is a fact. Mindanao feels that it is being neglected despite contributing a significant portion to the national economic output, particularly in terms of agricultural products,” he said.
The PSA’s 2024 regional economic performance report said BARMM grew by a measly 2.7 percent, while Zamboanga Peninsula grew by only 4.2 percent.
The other Mindanao regions’ growth rates were 6.9 percent for CARAGA, which is the second fastest-growing region; 6.3 percent for the Davao area, the fourth fastest; six percent for Northern Mindanao, the sixth fastest; and 5.5 percent for Socsargen.
Rodriguez said that he is happy for Northern Mindanao, which includes Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental and the other faster-growing regions, “we can do better if given more funds.”
The PSA report also showed that Central Visayas was the fastest-growing region with 7.3 percent; CARAGA; Central Luzon (6.5 percent); Davao Region; Eastern Visayas (6.2 percent); Northern Mindanao; the newly-formed Negros Island Region (5.9 percent); and Metro Manila (5.59 percent).
The national growth average was pegged at 5.7 percent.
“It’s not too late for the national government to empower us, our leaders and our people, to catch up with the rest of the country. It is important for the government to pour more funds into our island because public investments are the principal driver of economic growth,” Rodriguez said.
He said keeping up with Luzon and Visayas has long been a challenge for Mindanao leaders, most especially for those in BARMM.
“Let us help our people improve their lives through economic development,” he said.
