CITY OF SAN FERNANDO The cities of San Fernando and Angeles were recently recognized by the Pampanga Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council (PMSMEDC) chaired by Teresa David-Carlos for their exemplary performance in the 2021 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index or CMCI.
PMSMEDC, in separate resolutions, cited the City of San Fernando for placing sixth in overall competitiveness among component cities; fifth in infrastructure, and eight in government efficiency.
Angeles City, meanwhile, was lauded for ranking fifth among the most improved highly urbanized cities in the country.
The resolutions, said PMSMEDC Business Enabling Environment Project Management Team Co-Chair and Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Provincial Director Elenita Ordonio, are the council's response to the National MSMED Council Strategic Goal 1 on improved business climate or government mindset which aims to simplify, standardize, and harmonize MSME related rules and regulations at local and national levels to encourage MSMEs to tap the opportunities in macro-economic policy, infrastructure development, and trade deals, among others.
The awards conferred to the two cities are manifestations of making doing business easier and promoting the development of small entrepreneurs, which are also among the council’s objectives, she added.
The council hopes the citations will encourage other local government units to ramp up their competitiveness efforts in preparation for the next cycle of CMCI so that the province will produce more awardees and local government units in Pampanga will be motivated to ensure efficient business registration processes, compliance to business permits and licensing system standards, and enable the presence of investments promotion units, which are some of the indicators of the index,
The CMCI is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities based on a list of competitiveness indicators on four pillars including economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure, and resiliency geared towards sustainable competitiveness.