Bacolod is the most competitive in the Visayas

BACOLOD City – Bacolod City is the most competitive city in the Visayas, based on the data released by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), on the 2020 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI), an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities.

The rankings are based on the four pillars for governmental competitiveness: Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, and Resiliency, Mayor Evelio Leonardia said.

The Top 20 most competitive cities were led by Manila, Davao, and Pasay, while Bacolod ranked 11th.

This, however, means that Bacolod has a higher rating than Iloilo and Cebu, which landed 12th and 13th, respectively, Leonardia further said.

“This is a big morale booster for the fact that we continue to rank among the most competitive cities of the country in spite of the serious crisis we went through in the fight against COVID-19,” he added.

The mayor also said that “This gives us valid reasons to be optimistic that when this crisis is over, we can surely put Bacolod back on track and continue the rapid growth we were enjoying before the pandemic upset the economy.”

Completing the Top 10 are Makati, Muntinlupa, Pasig, Cagayan de Oro, Valenzuela, Caloocan, and Parañaque cities.

Also in the top 20 (from 14th to 20^th) are Mandaluyong, Zamboanga, General Santos, Puerto Princesa, Mandaue, Baguio, and Las Piñas cities.

The rankings were revealed during the NCC virtual awarding ceremony.

Awards were given to LGUs in four categories: 3rd to 6th Class Municipalities, 1st to 2nd Class Municipalities, Component Cities, and Highly Urbanized Cities.

Earlier, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) proclaimed Bacolod as the “Best-Performing LGU-City Category” in Region 6 for 2019.

It was also awarded the Seal of Good Local Governance last year by DILG Secretary Eduardo Año, while the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry ranked the city among the national finalists in the Most Business-Friendly Cities Competition.

This was the fourth consecutive year for Bacolod to make it among such top national finalists for this prestigious award.

For Infrastructure, Bacolod City went up two notches – from Rank 11 in 2019 to Rank 9 in 2020 among highly urbanized cities. For this key indicator, the NCC assessed the “physical building blocks that connect, expand and sustain a locality and its surroundings that enable seamless flow of goods and services.”

Bacolod also went up three notches in Resiliency – from Rank 13 in 2019 to Rank 10 in 2020. Resiliency is the capacity of a locality to facilitate businesses and industries to create jobs, raise productivity, and increase the incomes of citizens over time despite the shocks and stresses it encounters.

For the other two pillars, Bacolod ranked 13th in both Economic Dynamism and Government Efficiency. Economic Dynamism is associated with activities that create stable expansion of business and industries and higher employment. Government Efficiency refers to the quality and reliability of government service and government support for effective and sustainable productive expansion.

Aside from the assessment, the index results are aimed to encourage local government units (LGUs) to improve their operation systems and databases that will help track their level of competitiveness. (With a report from PIO)