Naujan, Oriental Mindoro – Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerito ‘Bonz’ Dolor is determined to accelerate the growth of his province by strongly promoting the ecozone development program. In his recent meeting with PEZA Director General Tereso Panga, Gov. Dolor shared that the PEZA Board-approved IT Park in Calapan City, the provincial capital, is expediting its compliance with the Presidential Proclamation requirements in order to commence commercial operations within the year. Meantime, the provincial government prioritized the establishment of a government center, transport terminal, training facility and other amenities to make the Calapan IT Park a mixed-use development viable to host the leading IT-BPM companies in the country.
The provincial government has likewise mapped out its locations for other upcoming private-led ecozones for project application within the year such as the RIL Noah Shipyard (ship building and ship repair) in Pinamalayan, and a domestic manufacturing zone in Gloria given its proximity to the existing air and seaports. Gov. Dolor is also eyeing an agro-industrial processing zone and an alternative energy development zone (with embedded LNG facility as the primary source) to boost the province’s energy sufficiency and capacity for local manufacturing and inter-regional trade. Ultimately, this ecozone development strategy—coupled with the province’s initiative on infrastructure and transport connectivity—will contribute to spurring Mindoro Oriental’s economic growth and enhancing its overall competitiveness as an investment destination.
As can be inferred from the latest PSA survey, the top 10 LGUs and richest areas in the country outside Metro Manila are those that host economic zones within their jurisdiction. As such, as we embark on this journey of eco-zoning the Philippines towards inclusive and sustainable development, PEZA shall continue to collaborate with the host LGUs and support countryside development through creation of more economic zones in rural and new growth areas.
Among the leading and model provincial LGU-initiated and managed ecozones are by Camarines Sur, Tarlac, Cebu, Leyte and Negros Occidental. These ecozones have injected about PhP 10 Billion worth of investments, generated US$ 692 Million of exports, and created more than 20,000 direct jobs to Filipinos.
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The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the Mimaropa region (Oriental Mindoro, Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan) registered a 4.7 percent growth and its economy was valued at P411.4 billion in 2023. Mimaropa is the third fastest growth region in the country, attributed mainly to its strong services, agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors.
Oriental Mindoro—known as the Rice Granary and Fruit Basket of Southern Tagalog”—ranked second in the region for the number of farms, with 64,000 farms covering 150,300 hectares. As a top producer of rice and fruits, Oriental Mindoro led the growth of the MIMAROPA region in 2021.
In the same year, Oriental Mindoro leaped to 17th place (from rank 59th) in the level of competitiveness among 81 participating provinces nationwide. Oriental Mindoro’s nationwide level of competitiveness advanced to rank 17th in the first three years under the administration of Governor Humerito ‘Bonz’ Dolor. This has been due to remarkable accomplishments in terms of governance, livelihood programs, infrastructures and excellent crisis management especially during this time of Covid-19 pandemic.
Apart from population and overall income, the DTI Regional Committee on Competitiveness Evaluation also include the ranking of the city, municipalities and provinces in terms of Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure and Resiliency. Contributory in achieving the overall average are the City of Calapan with 25.7%, Municipality of Naujan, 12.7% and Pinamalayan with 10.9%. ###
