DAVAO City maintained its spot as the fifth most competitive city in the country and remains to be the only city in Mindanao that's in the top five, the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) unveiled Thursday, July 14.
Based on the 2016 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) for overall cities bared during the fourth Regional Competitive Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, Davao got a total of 44.73 points, down by some 3 percent as compared to last year’s 46.10 points.
“The ease of doing business and securing permits, incentives given by Davao City Investment Board and almost no red tape in dealing with local government agencies are just some of the factors we see why Davao City is undeniably among the most competitive cities in the country,” Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (DCCCII) president Bonifacio Tan said yesterday in an interview with Sun.Star Davao.
Davao City, is behind Quezon City (first), Manila (second) Makati (third) and Pasig (fourth). But among the cities in Mindanao, Davao led the list followed by Cagayan de Oro City which landed seventh for the overall ranking.
CMCI measures LGU’s competitiveness based on the three pillars: Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, and Infrastructure.
Davao City Investment Promotion Center, officer-in-charge (OIC), Ivan Cortez, for his part said Davao City is supposedly the most competitive city in the country.
“They can tweak their survey and evaluation to suit their need but I will always believe that Davao City will prove them wrong,” Cortez said yesterday in a phone interview. "It is not saturated, there are more rooms and vast spaces for growth and expansion, it leads the region in Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP). It's a very viable place to live in with its mix of qualities like culture, climate, infrastructures and facilities and human resources," Cortez added.
The CMCI 2016 ranked 1,389 LGUs, of which 144 cities and 1,245 municipalities throughout the country. This is up from last year's 142 cities and 978 municipalities. The regional Competitiveness Summit recorded 122 cities and 163 municipalities in its pilot run last 2013.
“The increasing coverage of the index signified a higher level of interest and awareness on the importance of being measured based on the three pillars. By developing competitive LGUs across the nation, NCC is optimistic that this would contribute to the overall attractiveness of the country as a preferred place to do business,” NCC said in its press statement.
The CMCI is an annual ranking developed by NCC through the Regional Competitiveness Committees with the support of United States Agency for International Development and Globe Telecom.