DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Philippines News Agency) -- Three provinces in Central Mindanao were included in the top six most competitive provinces by the National Competitiveness Council.
The provinces of South Cotabato, North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat bagged the 3rd, 5th, and 6th places in the ranking respectively and are the only Mindanao provinces included in the Top 10 list.
Topping the list is Rizal province, followed by Cavite, South Cotabato, Laguna, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Bataan, Aklan, Batangas and La Union.
North Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza meanwhile appreciated the inclusion of her province in the most competitive list.
She urged her fellow Cotabateños to take advantage of the recognition by working harder.
"Cotabateños should carry on. Just like all of you, I am humbled and proud. We all work hard together with our 18 local government units, barangay officials, attached and other line agencies of government, civil society and NGOs. Our committed partners in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan headed by Vice Governor Dodong Ipong. As well our department heads and 1,800 dynamic and multitasking provincial employees," she said.
Most competitive local government units
The National Competitiveness Council also named the most competitive LGUs as it recognized the crucial role of local government units in promoting competitiveness in the country.
In their 2016 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI), topping the list of overall most competitive Highly Urbanized Cities is Quezon City followed by Makati City at 2nd and the City of Manila at 3rd place.
Meanwhile, Naga City secured its position as the overall most competitive Component City, along with the second placer San Fernando City, Pampanga. Legazpi City, Albay landed in the 3rd spot.
On the overall most competitive 1st-2nd Class Municipalities category, Cainta, Rizal is 1st place while its neighbor Taytay, Rizal moved one notch to 2nd place. Last year’s overall top municipality General Trias, Cavite slipped to 3rd rank.
On the other hand, Infanta, Quezon emerged as the overall most competitive 3rd-6th Class Municipality, with Baler, Aurora in the 2nd notch, while Calamba, Misamis Occidental placed third.
Under the Economic Dynamism Pillar for HUC, Makati City performed best followed by Pasig City and Quezon City.
For the Component Cities, Naga City, Camarines Sur got 1st place, while Imus City and Biñan City trailed in 2nd and 3rd places, respectively.
For 1st-2nd Class Municipalities, General Trias, Cavite topped the category with Cainta, Rizal in 2nd , and Sta. Maria, Bulacan in 3rd place.
For 3rd-6th Class Municipalities, Jimenez, Misamis Occidental ranked first, followed by Manito, Albay and Nasipit, Agusan del Norte.
On the Government Efficiency Pillar for HUC, City of Manila is the most competitive, with Quezon City as second and Iloilo City as third.
For Component Cities, Cotabato City led the ranking followed by Naga City and Legazpi City.
For 1st-2nd Class Municipalities, Cainta, Rizal ranked first, with Taytay, Rizal and Midsayap, North Cotabato next in the list.
For 3rd-6th Class Municipalities, Calape, Bohol topped the category followed by Paoay and Pasuquin, both in Ilocos Norte.
Lastly, under the Infrastructure Pillar for HUC, Quezon City is the best in the category, trailed by Makati City and Pasig City.
For Component Cities, Naga City ranked first, while Bacoor City, Cavite and Legazpi City, Albay placed second and third places respectively.
For 1st-2nd Class Municipalities, Cainta, Rizal is the most competitive, followed by Malay, Aklan, and Taytay, Rizal.
For 3rd-6th Class Municipalities, Infanta, Quezon led the category, with Pagsanjan, Laguna and Baler, Aurora next in the list.
Aside from these citations, NCC recognized the most improved LGUs from each category: Taguig City for HUC; Ormoc, Leyte for Component Cities; Pagbilao, Quezon for 1st-2nd Class Municipalities; and Barugo, Leyte for 3rd-6th Class Municipalities.
Most entries this year
This year’s CMCI has the largest number of participants, with 1,389 LGUs, 144 of which are cities and 1,245 are municipalities.
This is about 85 percent of total LGUs in the Philippines.
When CMCI started in 2013, only 285 or 17 percent of the LGUs in the country joined the index. The data used were gathered with the help of the 16 RCCs, which are composed of public and private sectors and the academe.
CMCI measures LGU’s competitiveness based on the three pillars: Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, and Infrastructure.
The increasing coverage of the index signified a higher level of interest and awareness on the importance of being measured based on the three pillars and a stronger commitment to improve LGU performance based on the resulting ranking.
NCC believes that LGUs are the building blocks of national competitiveness, the reason it encouraged the creation of RCCs.
These RCCs are tasked to regularly assess local competitiveness indicators, formulate programs to improve competitiveness, and engage in investment promotion activities to attract investors and create new jobs.
By developing competitive LGUs across the nation, NCC is optimistic that this would contribute to the overall attractiveness of the country as a preferred place to do business.
Aside from the awarding, NCC also launched the 2016 CMCI website, which contains the detailed information on a particular LGU.
The CMCI data may be used by businesses and government, as a tool for policy making, planning, governance, budget management, and investment promotion.
Stakeholders coming from the national government agencies, business chambers, development partners, diplomatic community, and the academe have joined this annual event.
The Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index is an annual ranking developed by NCC through the Regional Competitiveness Committees with the support of United States Agency for International Development and Globe Telecom.