BAGUIO CITY (PIA) -- Ten (11) local government units in Cordillera who emerged as local competitiveness champions were feted during the 10th Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Summit on Thursday (20 October 2022).
Besao, Mountain Province is rank 1 for Government Efficiency among 5th to 6th Class Municipalities; Malibcong, Abra is rank 3 for Innovation among 5th to 6th Class Municipalities and rank 5 for Most Improved among 5th to 6th Class Municipalities; Sablan, Benguet is rank 5 for Infrastructure Pillar among 5th to 6th Class Municipalities; and Calanasan, Apayao is rank 6 for Government Efficiency among 1st to 2nd Class Municipalities.
Meanwhile, Sagada, Mountain Province is rank 8 for Innovation among 5th to 6th Class Municipalities; Pasil, Kalinga is rank 9 for Innovation among 5th to 6th Class Municipalities; Banaue, Ifugao is rank 9 for Resiliency among 3rd to 4th Class Municipalities; Lamut, Ifugao is rank 10 for Resiliency among 3rd to 4th Class Municipalities; Baguio City is rank 10 for Government Efficiency among Highly Urbanized Cities; and Tublay, Benguet is rank 10 for Government Efficiency among 5th to 6th Class Municipalities.
DTI director for Competitiveness Bureau Lilian Salonga congratulated the local competitiveness champions citing that the conferment of awards will inspire LGUs to be more competitive, innovative and resilient.
"Culminating innovation and competitiveness is essential to keeping the economy dynamic, robust, and efficient. It stimulates economic development, increase administrative efficiency and of course, ensures environmental sustainability, social inclusion, and inclusive innovation," Salonga said.
Themed "A Decade of Excellence: Championing Innovation to Sustain Competitiveness", DTI Secretary Alfredo Pascual encouraged the LGUs to prioritize the final and latest competitive pillar which is innovation.
"With Industry 4.0, we hope LGUs embrace innovation as they expand their local economies. I am confident that LGUs can innovate to respond to productivity, governance, and financial deepening issues in our midst," Pascual stated.
Local governance is vital in keeping our national economy competitive, innovative and resilient and national development is deeply anchored on local developments, he added.
The CMCI is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities developed by the National Competitiveness Council through the Regional Competitiveness Committees with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development.
The overall competitiveness score is the sum of scores on three main pillars which pool data from several sub-indicators. The five pillars are economic dynamism, government efficiency, resiliency, innovation, and infrastructure. Scores are determined by the values of the actual data, as well as the completeness of the submitted data. The higher the score of a city or municipality, the more competitive it is.
According to DTI, the index can be used as a diagnostic tool by local government officials to assess the competitiveness of their city or municipality and identify areas for improvement and collaboration. Data can provide insight for policy making, development planning and investment promotion. (DEG)
