THE PHIVIDEC Industrial Authority (PIA) wants the big players of Davao Region’s agricultural sector to take an active role in defining Mindanao’s position in the country’s industrialization program. “I am sure there are a lot of companies here in Davao that also want industrialization,” PIA Chief Executive Officer and Administrator Franklin M. Quijano said in a recent interview. He cited as examples fresh fruit exporters Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. (TADECO) and Lapanday Foods Corp., and DMI Medical Supply Company Inc., maker of the MX3 dietary supplement. PIA and the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate in Misamis Oriental-Special Economic Zone (PIE-MO) Industries Association, Inc. are hosting the first Philippine Industrial Summit in Mindanao on Nov. 26 to 28, to be held in Cagayan de Oro City. The summit aims to speed up industrial development of Mindanao by strengthening links between the private and public sectors. “For private individuals and captains of the industry on the same page while they are competing with each other perhaps they may have forgotten that the role of each of them has a very important contribution in making an industrial Philippines,” Mr. Quijano said.

CORRIDORS
The summit is supported by the Japanese and Chinese consulates in Davao City, the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA). Under MinDA’s Mindanao Development Corridors strategy, the Northern Mindanao Region, where the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate is located, along with mining region Caraga are envisioned as the industrial center of Mindanao. The mainland’s south-central areas, including Davao, will serve as the food, agribusiness, and logistics cluster. “This is the first Philippine Industrial Summit in Mindanao. We need people to answer the question: What is your imagery of modern industrial Philippines?” Mr. Quijano said. The summit is also in line with the implementation of Administrative Order No. 18, issued in June this year, intended to accelerate rural development through the establishment of special economic zones in the countryside. — Maya M. Padillo

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR