DAVAO City moved two ranks higher as it was recognized the third most competitive highly-urbanized city nationwide from fifth place in 2015 and 2016.
The National Competitiveness Council awarded on Wednesday, August 16, the most competitive cities and provinces in the Philippines based on their economic dynamism, government efficiency, and infrastructure.
In 2016, Davao City ranked 8th for economic dynamism category, 4th for government efficiency category, and 6th for infrastructure. For this year, a new category was added on the list which was the resiliency award of which Davao City ranked first.
This year, as well, Davao City is the only city in Mindanao that made it to the top five, following Quezon City and Manila City.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio attributed the milestone of the city to the support of the private sector in the city's programs.
"Number one is the support of the private sector to the City Government programs, because government projects and government programs are a response kung anong need ng (if what is the need of the) private sector and we are happy with the performance of Davao City in National Competitiveness Council award but of course meron paring room for improvement kasi nasa third lang tayo (there’s still room for improvement because we only ranked third)," she said.
She said they are also looking into the best practices of other cities and see if these can be replicated in Davao City.
For 2017, Davao City also claimed the top spot in the Resiliency pillar. This is the first year that LGU's resiliency was included in the index, which highlights the city’s ability to stand tall and strong amidst challenges and difficulties.
The city also showed an improved ranking in the pillars of Economic Dynamism and Infrastructure, bagging the fourth and third spot respectively.
The cities and municipalities competitiveness index measures a local government unit’s competitiveness and presents an opportunity for local governments to better understand their performance against global standards. This also gives an avenue for them to come up with well-informed decisions towards becoming a more competitive LGU.
Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. president Ronald Go cited the good relationship between the local government unit (LGU) and the private sectors in Davao City in coming up with decisions involving businesses in the city.
"I think it is the city's willingness to involve the private sector especially the chamber of commerce in coming up with a lot of decisions. It is the input of the private sector which brings about the ease of doing business because we have a close working relationship with the LGU. More problems which beset the businessmen are tackled quickly and in less time making the city truly competitive compared to the rest," Go said.
Davao City Investment and Promotions Center head Lemuel Ortonio, for his part, said the City Government is fortunate that the private sector is active and participative in the development of the city.
With Davao City topping the resiliency award, Ortonio said it reflects the city's capacities in responding to emergency cases.
"This only shows that the city is ready at all times to respond and rise amidst different untoward incidences that may affect businesses. But beyond its benefit in investments, the award showcases the efforts that the government, the private sector, and the Dabawenyos have been doing to become more globally competitive," Ortonio said.
He added that with the ranking, the city positioned itself as among the most business-friendly and business-ready cities in the country.
Tagum City, Davao del Norte was also awarded the third place for the most competitive component city nationwide after Antipolo City and Naga City.
The most competitive first to second class municipalities are Cainta, Taytay, and Angono, all of which are from the province of Rizal. Most competitive 3rd to 6th class municipalities are awarded to Baler, Aurora, Mambajao, Camiguin, and Tayug, Pangasinan.
Rizal was declared the most competitive province nationwide followed by South Cotabato and Cavite.
The award, given by the National Competitiveness Council, gives recognition to different local government units in the country that show exemplary performance in the four pillars of the competitiveness index: Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, and Resiliency.
The awards ceremony also recognized competitive third to sixth Class Municipalities, first to second Class Municipalities, and Component Cities. This year, there were more than 1,500 LGUs that participated in the initiative. (JPA with KVC, CIO)