ECONOMIC CONDITION. Philippine Statistics Authority Cordillera Administrative Region Director Villafe Alibuyog reports on Thursday (April 28, 2022) that the region posted a 7.5-percent growth in its gross regional domestic product and expenditure. She said the growth was driven by three growth areas which included construction, manufacturing, and mining. (PNA photo by Liza T. Agoot) BAGUIO CITY - The Cordillera Administrative Region has recorded a 7.5-percent increase in its economic performance in 2021, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday. In her situation report on CAR's economic performance, PSA-Cordillera regional director Villafe Alibuyog said the region "placed third nationwide in terms of growth". She said that from a -10.2 percent growth rate from 2019 to 2020, the region performed better from 2020 to 2021 with a 7.5-percent increase. In 2021, Cordillera logged a Gross Regional Domestic Product equivalent to PHP310 billion which is a leap from the PHP288 billion recorded in 2020. In 2019, she said the region posted a positive GRDP of 4.4 percent before the slump as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. She cited the three growth areas which included construction at 17.2 percent, manufacturing at 17.1 percent, and mining at 14.1 percent. While positive growth was recorded in 2021, Alibuyog said Cordillera still has to do better to recoup the economic condition it had before the pandemic struck. "Cordillera needs 3.6 percent more next year to break even," the director said. She said final household spending, final government expenditure, and export largely contributed to the region's good economic performance. Noel Neil Malimban, regional director of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Northern Luzon, said one proof of the economic growth is the increase in the number of banks operating in the region from 200 to 202 in 2021. As of September 2021, he said the overall credit conditions provided ample support to economic activity as bank lending in the region grew by 8.1 percent with a lending portfolio of PHP20.2 billion. He added that deposits posted a 10.4-percent increment from PHP132.2 Billion to PHP145.9 billion in 2021. National Economic Development Authority-Cordillera regional director Susan Sumbeling, in a statement during the event, also reported that the government's economic stimulus packages like the TUPAD program of the Department of Labor and Employment provided about 65,000 individuals with temporary jobs. She added that the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board's (LTFRB) service contracting benefited 281 drivers who were able to provide free rides to 838,744 authorized persons outside the residence. The Department of Tourism also reported that economic stimulus packages were also provided aside from training to the said sector. "Most of the establishments have resumed operation and have reinstated their employees to their jobs," she said. (PNA) }