Bacolod Top 8 in PH ‘most competitive cities’
THE City of Bacolod was declared No. 8 in the country and No. 1 in the Visayas among highly urbanized cities (HUCs), by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) during its 6th Competitiveness Summit and Awards at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Manila Thursday, August 16.
The ranking is based on the sum of the scores of HUCs in the “4 Pillars”—Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, and Resiliency.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who accepted the award along with other city officials, said: “This is a big inspiration and this will even encourage us to do more. And let us all ride in this growth momentum.”
The 10 most competitive HUCs in the country are 1 - Quezon, 2 - Manila, 3 - Pasay, 4 - Davao, 5 - Cagayan de Oro, 6 – Makati, 7 - Pasig, 9 – Cebu, and 10 - Muntinlupa.
“The No. 8 HUC ranking is a big leap from our No. 20 ranking last year,” Councilor Em Ang, who also attended the awarding ceremony, said.
This year, a total of 1,494 LGUs participated in this initiative, according to DTI Undersecretary Rowel Barba.
Aside from the HUCs, awards were also given to LGUs in three other categories: 3rd to 6th Class Municipalities, 1st to 2nd Class Municipalities, and Component Cities.
Likewise, based on the same scorecard of NCC, Bacolod was declared the “3rd Most Improved City” in the HUCs category.
Leonardia accepted the award from NCC co-chair Guillermo Luz. Accompanying the mayor were Representative Greg Gasataya, Vice Mayor El Cid Familiaran, Councilors Cindy Rojas, Em Ang, and Bartolome Orola.
Also present were City Planning and Development Office head Mary Jean Ramos, City Treasurer Giovanni Balalilhe, Local Economic and Investment Promotions officer Jonah Javier, CDRRMO administrative officer Bernadeth Montelibano, and City Development Council vice chairman George Zulueta.
The 2018 NCC ranking shows that Bacolod improved in all four pillars from its 2017 ranking: Economic Dynamism—from No. 20 to No. 9, Government Efficiency— No. 22 to No. 15, Infrastructure— No. 15 to No. 6, and Resiliency— No. 19 to No. 10.
Referring to the results, Leonardia said, “While Bacolod was declared ‘3rd Most Improved Highly Urbanized City,’ the bigger story is that Bacolod ranked among the top 8 Most Competitive Cities nationwide and it also means being number one in the Visayas. Outside of the Metro Manila mega cities listed in the top 8, only Davao and Cagayan de Oro were ranked higher.”
“For all these, our city officials are inspired to even do better to bring the city to greater heights and are appealing to all Bacolodnons to ride on this growth momentum,” he added.
Under the present administration, The Manila Times awarded Bacolod the title “Top Philippine Model City” in 2017. This year, it won first runner-up in the same competition, with a special recognition as the Most Business-Friendly City.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry also recognized Bacolod as one of the 3 top national finalists in its recent competition.
Also this year, Bacolod was considered one of the 4 fastest- growing cities in the Philippines for “property searches,” according to Lamudi, an online real estate marketplace with operations in 34 countries.
Moreover, Bacolod is one of only five cities in the Philippines that are included in the Tholons List of Top 100 “Super Cities” in 2017. Tholons International is the leader in global outsourcing locations rankings.
Meanwhile, Secretary Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, Special Assistant to the President, was the guest speaker of the competitiveness summit, with 1,500 organizers and guests including New Zealand Ambassador David Strachan, DTI secretary Ramon Lopez, other cabinet secretaries and undersecretaries. (PR)