DAVAO CITY—General Santos City posted significant housing sector growths among the four cities in southern Mindanao, indicating a sharp escalation of business activities in the region represented by the four rice-producing Cotabato provinces.
Last year the tuna capital of the Philippines increased its membership contribution in Pag-IBIG Fund to P381.756 million, one-fifth more than what it posted the previous year. In 2010 the city registered P316.593 million in contribution.
The number was next to Davao City’s P644.002 million, which has the largest contribution among the other cities that include Tagum City, the capital of Davao del Norte; and Kidapawan City, the capital of North Cotabato.
Davao City increased its contribution by 13.79 percent, Tagum City by 13.05 percent, and Kidapawan City by 10.75 percent.
Jose W. Banzon, Pag-IBIG Fund’s vice president for the Southern Mindanao Group, said that this item is directly related to the number of businesses operating in a certain locality.
General Santos City actually increased its membership over the same period, from 122,302 in 2010 to 143,383 last year. The increase represented 17.24 percent, also the largest growth posted by the other three cities.
Tagum City followed closely with a 16.72-percent growth from 101,953 to 118,997 members. Davao City is third, with 256,649 members, an 11.65-percent increase from 229,876. Kidapawan posted only a 5.86-percent growth, from 88,826 to 94,032 members.
Total membership has already breached the half-million mark, with 613,061 members as of December this year, 12.91 percent higher than the previous year. This number also meant an increase in contribution to P1.622 billion for the whole of 2010.
The growth in General Santos is likely to increase further as SM City opens its largest shopping mall in Mindanao in that city in 2012. The Gaisano Mall has also expanded its operation with an additional building to boost its space.
Banzon said that Kidapawan City, while slower in growth than General Santos City, was also expected to improve as more housing projects were being constructed in the area between Makilala and Kidapawan.
