Cebu needs to toil harder to raise competitiveness

CEBU, Philippines —  There is still much work to be done for Cebu to raise its competitiveness in the areas of economic dynamism, infrastructure, government efficiency and resiliency.

In particular, the ease of doing business must continue to get focus to raise Cebu’s competitiveness.

"The ease of doing business continues to be a central part of any city's competitiveness," Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice president Steven Yu told The FREEMAN in a phone interview yesterday.

"The tax incentives are sometimes ranked secondary to ease of doing business as far as foreign and domestic investors are concerned," the businessman added.

Cebu City ranked 9th in the 2018 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) released recently. While Mandaue City ranked 13th.

In Mandaue City, Yu said the local government and the chamber had the Performance Governance System (PGS).

He said "this laid one of the important groundwork for improving and sustaining Mandaue City's competitiveness over the years."

He urged the government to address loopholes particularly in national regulations that are beyond the powers of local government units.

"There are still unresolved and cumbersome processes, and this is where federalism comes in," Yu pointed out.

The Duterte administration is pushing for a federal form of government, a system which divides the power between the national government, and the local and regional governments beneath it.

"However, the points raised by the economic team is equally valid, and has to be given importance and acted upon to avoid plunging our country into a financial crisis," Yu said, referring to recent warning of Duterte’s economic managers that shifting to federalism might impact the momentum of the Philippine economy.

Meanwhile, Quezon City retained the top spot as most competitive highly-urbanized in the 2018 CMCI. Manila likewise remained on the second spot while Pasay City obtained the third place.

It is worth noting that Bohol managed to capture the 12th spot in survey list of top most competitive provinces in the country this year.