It is often believed that economic growth and development have bypassed Mindanao because it has not been a major participant in the country’s economic activities due to the lack of government and private development projects. This “neglect” is then seen as the cause of the serious political problems that now plague Mindanao, including armed insurgencies, rebellions, and various other conflicts. A closer look at the Mindanao economy, however, paints a picture of a region that has been a major performer and a primary contributor to the country’s productive capacities. Large government infrastructure projects coupled with the island’s abundant natural resources have attracted local and foreign business concerns, which have invested capital and technology that have generated enormous profits for the few. But the wealth and income created by the extraction of Mindanao’s resources have not benefited majority of its peoples. Poverty and other social indicators are more depressed than the national average. What emerges is the typical paradox of economic growth and a marginalized and impoverished working population. In the Mindanao case, this enigma is exacerbated by the effects of internal colonialism— the transfer of wealth from the southern regions to the nucleus of economic and political power in the north. Furthermore, inequalities exist between Mindanao’s wealthier regions and the less developed ones.