DTI chief lauds most competitive LGUs of 2022

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual emphasized the critical role of Local Government Units (LGUs) in nation building and the promotion of nationwide competitiveness during the 10th Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Summit held on 20 October 2022 at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

“LGUs play a vital role as we strive for continuous development in our nation’s competitiveness. You are our partner in ease of doing business. As Chair of the Ease of Doing Business – Anti-Red Tape Advisory Council (EODB-ART), we support the streamlining of government operations. Let us work together to digitize your data and digitalize your operations toward e-governance,” Secretary Pascual said.

Ease of doing business and anti-red tape initiatives are central to the Marcos Administration’s campaign for bureaucratic efficiency and creating a business environment that attracts and sustains foreign direct investments (FDIs) in the country. Promoting ease of doing business, especially at the LGU level, will help eliminate corruption, promote good governance, and improve competitiveness.

The Trade Chief also tackled the importance of the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) Program, which addresses the lack of a standardized system for compiling local indicators nationwide, while allowing LGUs to assess their relative level of competitiveness and derive insights for their local policymaking and planning.

Through the insights that can be derived from the CMCI Data Analytics Platform, the policymakers and local chief executives can formulate concrete plans and programs to strengthen their competitiveness and promote local communities as a viable investment destinations of choice for new and existing investors.

“CMCI constantly evolves to be a timely and relevant indicator of local competitiveness as it added the Innovation Pillar from the list of its convergent pillars, namely, Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, and Resilience,” the Trade Chief added.

Likewise, he lauded the outstanding performance of LGUs who have endeavored and committed to pursue quality and excellence and have worked hard to improve their competitiveness scores in this year’s Summit.

Ranked based on the CMCI scoring system, the 2022 Overall Most Competitive Highly Urbanized City in the Country was awarded to Quezon City, followed by the Cities of Manila and Pasay in the 2nd and 3rd places, respectively.

In closing, the Trade Chief pushed LGUs to not settle with their laurels and continue to do better, be more innovative, and push through with more initiatives that will contribute to the overall competitiveness of the country.

The complete list of the CMCI awardees can be found in CMCI Facebook page.