Surigao - Economy

Economy

Surigao City underwent rapid economic growth that spanned nearly two decades beginning in the late 1960s. Pacific Cement started commercial operations manufacturing Portland cement and the Canadian- owned company Marinduque Mining and Industrial Corporation ( MMIC) also started extracting nickel and iron ore in Nonoc Island. This was a boon to the city as it generated more commerce to meet an increasing demand for goods and services. At the end of the decade in the 1970s, within a short period from cityhood, Surigao attained first class status. Likewise, mining activities increased by a manifold in other parts of the province, primarily extracting gold and copper. The city became the nexus of mining operations for the entire Region X, at the time among Philippines' largest regions encompassing nearly half of Mindanao Island. Philippines' Bureau of Mines and Geosciences moved its regional headquarters in the city at Km. 1. In 1983, MMIC stopped commercial operations due to financial losses and heavy debt as a result of plummeting prices of nickel and high operating costs. Commercial activities in the city slowed, relying on basic services, small-scale industries, agriculture and fishing. Even the copra processing plant Surigao Coconut Development Corp. ( SUCODECO) in Lipata folded, another casualty from the weak prices of commodities in the world market. Added blow to Surigao's already weak economy came when typhoon Nitang ( internationally codename Hurricane Ike) struck the city in September 1984. The devastation was severe and wide. There were lots of casualties numbering close to 2000 human deaths. This extract from The Times on 6 September 1984 reports on the aftermath:

While more than 300 people are now known to have died, Mr Salvador Sering, the deputy governor, believes 1,000 died in the provincial capital Surigao City alone. The city has run out of coffins and people are being buried in mass graves. Some 200 residents of the town of Mainit were reported to have drowned when a lake burst its banks. As the clearing up continues, cholera and typhoid vaccines have been flown to the devastated areas.

From the mid 80s until the turn of the 21st century, Surigao's economic woes mirrored the rest of the nation, returning to a bedroom community as it saw some of its original families leave looking for opportunities in other places, both local and overseas.

During the last decade, the city saw improvement of its key macroeconomic indicators. Increased retail activity was evident downtown as new stores opened and existing ones expanded. The success of major restaurant chains Jollibee, Greenwich and Chowking and Mang Inasal opened the floodgates for more investments in the city. Hotel rooms doubled with the opening of new hotels and expansion of existing ones, with adequate convention facilities. Port expansion was completed in 2009, increasing its handling capacity. Today, it is one of the country's top seaports for gross registered tonnage handled, also posting the highest cargo and passenger traffic in Region XIII.