ELECTION-related spending is expected to boost the regional economy in Northern Mindanao which is still trying to recover from its losses during the two-year hiatus during the Covid-19 in 2021, economic managers here said.

National Economic and Development Authority-10 Director Mylah Faye Cariño said the spending tied to the May 2025 elections would most likely benefit media organizations, the advertising sector, and service sectors like tarpaulin makers and printing presses.

“Even vehicle rental services would stand to benefit as politicians needed these to bring their people around,” Cariño said.

NORMIN ECONOMIC OUTLOOK. National Economic and Development Authority-10 officials present Northern Mindanao’s 2025 regional economic forecast during a press conference in Cagayan de Oro City on Tuesday, highlighting key growth drivers, including election-related spending. Photo by Froilan Gallardo

She said the money would cascade to other sectors pumping the economy still reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic two years ago.

Neda figures placed the regional economy in Northern Mindanao at P985 billion, a slight increase from its 2022 output of P935 billion.

A study in 2022 made by the Union Bank of the Philippines said spending during Philippine elections usually spurs the economy by about 0.5 % to 1% as households, awash with money, would boost consumption.