Finance Secretary and Investment Czar Frederick D. Go’s message in Davao City this week was both an economic pitch and a political signal: Mindanao is no longer being asked to wait its turn.
Speaking at the Philippine Economic Briefing, Go described Davao City as the economic center of Mindanao and a vital link among businesses, workers, capital and markets.
The numbers support the optimism.
Davao City grew by 7.9 percent in 2024, ranking fifth among the country’s highly urbanized cities in economic growth. Its economy reached P574.72 billion, accounting for 2.6 percent of national GDP. Davao Region, meanwhile, grew by 5.1 percent in 2025, faster than the national growth rate of 4.4 percent, remaining Mindanao’s largest regional economy.
For Davao City’s business sector, these figures are more than statistics. They strengthen the case for continued investment, expansion, job creation and infrastructure development.
But growth figures alone do not make an economy successful.
The real test is whether businesses, especially local enterprises, see lower costs and fewer bureaucratic hurdles, whether investments create quality jobs, and whether infrastructure keeps pace with economic activity. Growth must also reach communities beyond major business districts.
Go’s emphasis on fiscal discipline and reducing government inefficiencies is therefore important. Measures such as lower SEC registration fees, longer customs importer accreditation validity and reduced withholding tax rates for local importers and manufacturers could make a meaningful difference if implemented effectively.
For Davao City’s business community, the challenge now is to see these reforms translated from policy announcements into actual improvements.
This is especially significant amid the city’s politically charged environment.
Davao City remains a major political center, with the Duterte family continuing to wield substantial influence. The increasingly polarized relationship between the Marcos administration and political forces identified with Davao City has inevitably shaped the city’s political climate.
Against this backdrop, the national government’s economic briefing in Davao City carries added weight.
It gives the Marcos administration an opportunity to demonstrate that its engagement with Mindanao can be measured not by political alliances but by economic results.
That is what matters to businesses.
Investors need stability, predictable policies, reliable infrastructure and efficient government services. They need confidence that economic programs will continue even when political relationships change.
Economic development should not become another arena for political competition.
Davao City’s political leaders and business community should welcome legitimate opportunities for investment and national support, regardless of which administration delivers them. Economic development should have no political color.
Go’s declaration that “the next chapter of Philippine growth will be shaped in Mindanao” is ambitious. Davao City, with its economic weight and strategic position, is well placed to help write that chapter.
But the city should not be satisfied with being called a growth center. It must demand better transport, reliable power and water, stronger digital infrastructure, competitive logistics, support for agriculture and manufacturing, and a business environment where small enterprises can grow alongside major investors.
The private sector must also seize opportunities in agriculture, energy, manufacturing, tourism, logistics and digital services and move toward higher-value industries.
Ultimately, the success of the Philippine Economic Briefing will not be measured by the speeches delivered, but by what happens afterward.
Investors should encounter fewer obstacles. Businesses should see lower costs. Workers should find more opportunities. Communities should feel the benefits.
Davao City has earned its place in the national economic conversation.
Now it must ensure that its economic importance is not overshadowed by its political significance.
In a city where politics commands considerable attention, the best response is results.
Let Davao City compete on growth, innovation, investment and opportunity not political loyalties.