DAVAO City has once again demonstrated its fiscal strength and economic resilience, maintaining its position among the country’s top-performing local government units (LGUs) in locally sourced revenue (LSR), alongside major cities in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The Department of Finance–Bureau of Local Government Finance (DOF-BLGF), through Memorandum Circular No. 017.2025, recognized Davao City as one of the Top 10 cities nationwide in strengthening local government finance for Fiscal Year 2024. The city recorded an impressive P6.84 billion in LSR, higher than the P6.67 billion generated in 2023.
Other cities included in the list were Quezon City, Makati City, Taguig City, Pasig City, Manila, Parañaque, Pasay, Mandaluyong, and Cebu—marking Davao City as the only Mindanao LGU to hold its position among these economic giants consistently.
“The fact that the city maintained its spot as one of the top-performing cities in the country on local source revenues shows that the city has been consistent in its efforts to achieve and surpass its target collection, made possible by the contribution of all Dabawenyo taxpayers,” said City Treasurer lawyer Lawrence Bantiding.
He added that Davao City’s LSR collection continues to increase yearly, with business taxes as the primary driver. “It presupposes that most of the business establishments in Davao City have increased their gross sales or receipts declaration, resulting in an increase in business tax collection as well,” Bantiding explained.
As of September 2025, the City’s total revenue collection reached P12.05 billion, of which 46.63 percent came from business taxes and 18.15 percent from real property taxes.
This strong fiscal performance aligns with the city’s robust economic growth.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority–Davao (PSA-Davao), Davao City’s economy expanded by 7.9 percent in 2024, surpassing the previous year’s 7.5 percent.
The city’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), measured at constant 2018 prices, rose to P574.72 billion, a P42.19-billion increase from P532.52 billion in 2023.
The figures were presented during the 2024 Economic Performance of Davao del Sur and City of Davao Dissemination Forum and Capacity Development for Stakeholders held on October 9, 2025.
PSA-Davao attributed the city’s sustained growth to the strength of the construction and services sectors — signs of a maturing and diversified urban economy. The construction industry recorded the highest growth at 19.1 percent, spurred by booming infrastructure and real estate developments. This was followed by transportation and storage (12.6 percent) and other services (10.8 percent), reflecting renewed consumer and investor confidence in the city’s business environment.
With its steady rise in both fiscal and economic indicators, Davao City continues to cement its position as the country’s leading growth center outside Metro Manila. Its consistency in revenue generation and economic expansion underscores the city’s effective governance, growing business confidence, and commitment to sustainable development — making it a benchmark for other LGUs striving to strengthen local autonomy and fiscal performance. DEF