CEBU Province, recognized as the wealthiest province in the Philippines with P310 billion in assets in 2024, is now pushing to improve its national competitiveness ranking.
Despite its economic strength, Cebu ranked 49th out of 82 provinces in the country in the 2024 national competitiveness index.
Provincial Assistant Administrator Aldwin Empaces, in an interview on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, said the Province plans a comprehensive review of local government unit (LGU) performance.
This effort will involve a concerted review of LGUs’ performances, benchmarked against the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s Seal of Good Local Governance.
“We are the number one province by asset, but it seems we’re far behind when it comes to competitiveness,” said Empaces, highlighting the disparity between the Province’s economic assets and its current competitiveness ranking.
However, Empaces has not specified the target rank the Province is aiming for national competitiveness.
The CMCI, an annual ranking by the DTI, evaluates the competitiveness of Philippine cities and municipalities based on five core pillars: economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure, resiliency and innovation.
It serves as a vital tool for LGUs to assess their performance and identify areas for improvement.
“Based on that, the performance of the LGU would be the performance of the Province…Therefore, prioritizing programs in LGUs should be based on data,” said Empaces.
He cited examples such as the number of police personnel needed, the number of banks and the number of investors.
Former governor Gwendolyn Garcia previously disclosed that Cebu remains the richest province in the country with P310 billion in assets and P6.015 billion cash-on-hand. The Province also remains free from debts.
Empaces pointed out that Bohol, a neighboring island, was recently awarded by the DTI as a top performer.
Empaces said Capitol plans to incentivise the top-performing LGU in Cebu soon, a move supported by the DTI.
Empaces said DTI has expressed optimism regarding the Province’s new direction under Gov. Pamela Baricuatro.
Given that this initiative is part of Baricuatro’s legislative agenda, Empaces expressed hope that mayors in the province will align with the Province’s direction to collectively enhance Cebu’s overall competitiveness. / JPS