Cordillera provinces among the poorest 06-06-18

	NORDIS WEEKLY June 18, 2006
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Cordillera provinces among the poorest
BAGUIO CITY (June 16) — Top officials of the Regional Development Council (RDC) admitted that while the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) doubled after 18 years, majority of its provinces are still among the country’s poorest provinces. National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Asst. Regional Director Leon Dacanay said the GRDP of CAR remained at P25 billion at present from a measly P12 billion in 1987. However, Dacanay said that Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province and Ifugao are among the poorest provinces in the country with Mountain Province and Ifugao still among the 20 poorest provinces. He also said that based on the GRDP poverty level ranking of CAR is somewhere in the middle unlike before when it was among those in the bottom. Dacanay said that looking at economic figures the region is industrial but quipped that the economic activities of the region’s people belie this. He admitted that a large chunk of the GRDP was from the Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA). Dacanay said however that despite the absence of money , no Cordilleran dies of hunger, adding that people here do not rely on employment but on subsistence agriculture, for a living. According to Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Regional Director Marites Damian, CAR’s export performance reached 10% at present. She said 99% of exports came from PEZA. “We still need to develop our own small and medium enterprise (SME),” Damian said. She added that a 5% percent increase in SME’s would generate jobs for the region. To kick off its plans to improve the region’s performance, RDC integrated promotion of local products, forum-discussions on issues concerning the Cordillerans, and a dialogue with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in CAR’s 19th anniversary month-long celebration. Executive Order 220 by former President Corazon Aquino on July 15, 1987 created CAR. # KNQ for NORDIS Post your comments, reactions to this article
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	NORDIS WEEKLY June 18, 2006
Home \| To bottom	Previous \| Next
Cordillera provinces among the poorest
BAGUIO CITY (June 16) — Top officials of the Regional Development Council (RDC) admitted that while the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) doubled after 18 years, majority of its provinces are still among the country’s poorest provinces. National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Asst. Regional Director Leon Dacanay said the GRDP of CAR remained at P25 billion at present from a measly P12 billion in 1987. However, Dacanay said that Apayao, Kalinga, Mountain Province and Ifugao are among the poorest provinces in the country with Mountain Province and Ifugao still among the 20 poorest provinces. He also said that based on the GRDP poverty level ranking of CAR is somewhere in the middle unlike before when it was among those in the bottom. Dacanay said that looking at economic figures the region is industrial but quipped that the economic activities of the region’s people belie this. He admitted that a large chunk of the GRDP was from the Philippine Export Zone Authority (PEZA). Dacanay said however that despite the absence of money , no Cordilleran dies of hunger, adding that people here do not rely on employment but on subsistence agriculture, for a living. According to Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Regional Director Marites Damian, CAR’s export performance reached 10% at present. She said 99% of exports came from PEZA. “We still need to develop our own small and medium enterprise (SME),” Damian said. She added that a 5% percent increase in SME’s would generate jobs for the region. To kick off its plans to improve the region’s performance, RDC integrated promotion of local products, forum-discussions on issues concerning the Cordillerans, and a dialogue with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in CAR’s 19th anniversary month-long celebration. Executive Order 220 by former President Corazon Aquino on July 15, 1987 created CAR. # KNQ for NORDIS Post your comments, reactions to this article
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