Caraga Administrative Region or Region XIII is typical of the paradox of poverty amidst bounty. Blessed with abundant natural resources and endowed with an extensive coast of enthralling beauty and biodiversity, the Region has attracted exploitative industries that stripped Caraga of its resources without plowing back the benefits of production to the local economy. For decades, the Region has supplied the rest of the country and even the world with raw materials that propelled their economies towards industrialization and rapid urbanization. Being a mere supplier of raw materials, Caraga has been left at the bottom rank of the development ladder, with its people barely receiving a share from the extracting industries they have enriched. Caraga today is still a resource-rich region mired in poverty.

 

“Climate change is already upon us. There are new dangers that need to be understood. The catastrophic experience in Manila tells us that we need to plan our cities,” said National Security Adviser and Secretary of the National Defense Norberto B. Gonzales during the culmination of the 2009 Mindanao Week of Peace (MWOP) on December 2, 2009 at Dottie’s Place, Butuan City.