DAVAO City and Davao de Oro have emerged as the wealthiest city and province in Mindanao, respectively, based on the 2022 Annual Financial Report (AFR) on Local Government Units (LGU) released by the Commission on Audit (COA).
According to the COA's AFR, Davao City's total assets increased to P29.701 billion from P26.555 billion in 2021. This marks a steady increase from P23.664 billion in 2020, P19.78 billion in 2019, P16.259 billion in 2018, P13.181 billion in 2017, and P9.898 billion in 2016.
The city moved up one spot from last year's ranking, securing the ninth position. This marks the seventh consecutive year that Davao City has held the distinction of being the richest city in Mindanao.
Meanwhile, Davao de Oro maintains its standing as the fourth wealthiest province in the country, boasting assets totaling P23.107 billion. Although this represents a slight decrease from the previous year's P23.211 billion, the province has kept its position in the rankings.
Joining the list this year is Bukidnon, a province in Mindanao, with total assets amounting to P21.058 billion.
However, no municipality from Mindanao made it to the top 10 list of wealthiest towns in the country.
Cebu Province remains the undisputed leader, retaining its title as the wealthiest province in the country for the ninth consecutive year.
The COA's 2022 report indicates a rise in Cebu Province's assets, reaching P235,738,417, up from P215.27 billion in 2021.
Quezon City, for its part, retains its top position as the richest city in the country, with P443 billion in assets.
The 2022 COA report covered 81 provinces, 147 cities, and 1,487 municipalities. It also included the Bangsamoro government with 27 municipalities. With reports from SunStar Philippines