Due mainly to the resolution of its crippling power crisis, Occidental Mindoro emerged as the fastest-growing province in the country in 2025, with its growth sharply accelerating to an impressive 11.2 percent from a mere 2.1-percent growth lodged in 2024.
According to the report released last week by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the home of the Apo Reef Natural Park and Mounts Iglit-Baco National Park was the only local economy to record double-digit growth among the country’s 82 provinces and 33 highly urbanized cities (HUCs).
Occidental Mindoro also leads an entirely new list of provinces and HUCs that made it to the top 10 in 2025, a year dominated by the flood control corruption scandal that contributed to the slowdown in the expansion of the Philippine economy to a mere 4.4 percent, the lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following Occidental Mindoro are Capiz, which grew by 8.7 percent; Maguindanao del Sur, 8.63 percent; Antique, 8.55 percent; Davao del Norte, 8.3 percent; General Santos City, 8.04 percent; Guimaras, 7.96 percent; Cagayan de Oro City, 7.4 percent; Surigao del Norte, 7.3 percent; and Negros Oriental, 7 percent.
Bleak economic news
These indicate the broad expansion of economies outside the traditional economic centers, which provides a rare positive picture against a backdrop of bleak economic news.
Some 76 of the 82 provinces and all 33 of HUCs posted year-on-year growth last year. And of these, 52 provinces and the HUCs posted growth rates that beat the national average, and there’s enough runway for these economies’ growth to pick up the pace.
That Occidental Mindoro topped the rankings in 2025 was attributed mainly to the province’s shedding of the unwanted title of “brownout capital of the Philippines,” according to its lone representative, Rep. Leody Tarriela.
“Totoong sa pagtutulungan at pagsusumikap, maaring makakamit ang kaunlaran na inaaasam (It is true that through cooperation and hard work, the development we aspire to can be achieved),” said Tarriela.
Tarriela added that with the power crisis behind it thanks to the injection of additional supply, the province saw an influx of additional investments in infrastructure and institutions such as schools, hospitals and in sectors such as agriculture and tourism. Small and medium scale enterprises likewise mushroomed, helping shore up the province’s employment numbers.
Biggest local economy
The other provinces and HUCs that made the top 10 share similar stories of how cooperation among local and national agencies, the participation of the private sector and sound local policies led to tangible progress that put more money into the residents’ pockets.
Capiz, for instance, has seen an increase in services, infrastructure, and real estate developments in step with the strengthening of the local purchasing power.
Maguindanao del Sur, on the other hand, is benefiting from the broader growth of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which saw its growth pace accelerate to 5 percent last year from 3.5 percent in 2024.
But while the growth rates are encouraging, overall growth remains tightly concentrated in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. This means more still needs to be done to disperse economic progress to other parts of the country.
Quezon City, for instance, has retained its position as the country’s biggest local economy in 2025, accounting for 6 percent of the country’s gross domestic product at P1.4 trillion, up from P1.3 trillion in 2024.
Trailing it are Makati, the province of Laguna and the city of Manila, which likewise kept their rankings from the previous year and the only local economies that generated over P1 trillion in local wealth.
Within striking distance
Nevertheless, the ranking of fastest growing provinces and HUCs present a guidepost against which local leaders must benchmark their performance with the laggards hopefully challenged to keep up and the topnotchers to aspire for consistency to ensure continuous growth.
Indeed, the challenge is not just to get to the top rankings but to stay there or at least within striking distance. Consistency must be the aspiration such that these province’s feats will not be a mere flash in the pan. None of the provinces on the 2024 list, for instance, stayed on the top 10.
That year, Eastern Samar recorded the fastest annual growth of 10.2 percent, followed by Batanes, Dinagat Islands, Bataan, Bohol, Camiguin, Marinduque, Siquijor, Tarlac, and Misamis Occidental. But these have since slid down the ladder.
Thus as the local government units stand ready to receive a whopping P1.3 trillion from the proposed 2027 budget–11 percent more than the P1.19 trillion this year–the challenge is on for the local government leaders and other stakeholders to come together and forge a path toward shared and sustainable prosperity.