Bacolod’s competitiveness ranking ‘unbelievable’, ‘not reflective of current situation’

BACOLOD City Mayor Monico Puentevella and Bacolod Tourism Consultant Rhoderick Samonte both expressed disbelief in Bacolod’s 73rd ranking in the Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index 2015.

The ranking was conducted by the National Competitiveness Council of the Philippines and is based on three categories: government efficiency, infrastructure and economic dynamism.

The city ranked No. 97 in economic dynamism and No. 90 in infrastructure.

According to Puentevella, nobody in their right mind will believe the information because Bacolod was not even able to participate in this year’s ranking.

“We were not able to participate because we have so many problems and projects to attend to. We have no time to prepare all the bulky requirements,” he added.

Puentevella said that Bacolod would be included in the top ranking cities if only it was able to participate, citing the many buildings and giant investors coming to the city.

Meanwhile, Samonte said the No. 73 ranking does not reflect the current situation of the city.

The result is not the sole indicator of the city’s real competitiveness, he added.

“As long as the investments are coming in, we have big business players present in the city, this is already a successful indicator,” Samonte said.

He admitted that the ranking has an effect to the city, but there is no data yet showing that tourism in Bacolod has declined.

“In fact, we continue to become not just a gateway but a destination--especially for food,” he added.

Samonte also said that Bacolod has been receiving a lot of inquiries for hosting of meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions.

“We are on the right track, but I think we need to do more by collaborating between the private and public sectors,” he said.

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