Cebu, Bohol LGUs hailed best in Central Visayas

CEBU, Philippines —  Among the local government units (LGUs) in Central Visayas, Cebu and Bohol dominated the recent 6th Regional Competitiveness Summit, which recognizes the most competitive cities and municipalities in the country.

For Cebu, 11 LGUs got 21 different recognitions, while 12 LGUs in Bohol province got 20 citations.  Four LGUs in Negros Oriental got four accolades.

Bohol was hailed as the most competitive province in Central Visayas. In the overall tally where 75 qualified provinces were assessed, Bohol landed at 12th place.

Mandaue placed 2nd in the most improved highly-urbanized cities, while Cebu City copped eighth place.

For the most improved component cities, Talisay City ranked third, Naga took the fifth spot, Dumaguete City at seventh, while Tagbilaran City bagged the 17th spot.

For the most improved  3rd to 6th class municipalities, Carmen, Cebu made it to the seventh place; Bindoy, Negros Oriental landed in the ninth spot, while Pilar, Cebu was in the 18th place.

In the field of economic dynamism, the top performing highly-urbanized cities include Cebu City (6th place) and Mandaue City (7th place).

Tagbilaran City, Bohol took the ninth spot for the component city category. Its neighboring municipalities Talibon and Loon got the seventh and ninth place, respectively, in the top performing 1st and 2nd class municipalities.

For the 3rd to 6th class municipalities – Jagna, Bohol landed second, Antequera, Bohol in third place, Corella, Bohol took the seventh spot, San Remigio, Cebu landed in the 17th place, while Carmen, Cebu took the 18th place.

For government efficiency, Mandaue City took the 20th spot in the highly-urbanized city category.  Dumaguete City took the second spot, while Tagbilaran City got the sixth place for the component cities.

For the 3rd to 6th class municipalities – Valencia, Bohol ended at 11th place, while Trinidad, Bohol placed 18th.

In the field of infrastructure, Cebu City collared the eighth place, while Lapu-Lapu City ended at 20th in the highly-urbanized cities. Tagbilaran City, Bohol took the ninth spot in the component city category.

For the 3rd to 6th municipalities category, Tabogon, Cebu took the fifth spot, Albuquerqque, Bohol got the 13th place, while San Remigio, Cebu ended at 14th.

For resilience, Cebu City was adjudged fifth place for the highly-urbanized city category, Mabinay, Negros Oriental got the 12th place, and Tuburan, Cebu the 14th place in the 1st and 2nd class municipalities.

For the 3rd to 6th class municipalities, Sierra Bullones, Bohol ended at second place, Batuan, Bohol in eight place, while Badian, Cebu got the 13th spot.

In the field of overall competitive cities and municipalities, Cebu City ranked ninth, while Mandaue City landed at 13th place for highly-urbanized cities. Tagbilaran City clobbered the eighth place in the component city category.

For the 3rd to 6th class municipalities, Jagna, Bohol took the fourth spot, San Remigio, Cebu at eighth, Corella, Bohol at 11th, Antequera, Bohol at 12th place, and Sierra Bullones, Bohol at the 16th spot.

The Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) measures the competitiveness of a local government in terms of four pillars: economic dynamism (activities that create stable expansion of business and industries and higher job creation); government efficiency (quality and reliability of government services and support for effective and sustainable productive expansion); infrastructure (physical building blocks of a locality that enable the provision of goods and services); and resiliency (capacity of a locality to facilitate industries and raise productivity despite the shocks and stresses it encounters).

The Department of Trade and Industry, in a statement, said these pillars are aligned with the competitiveness indicators used by IMD Competitive Survey, International Finance Corporation (IFC) Doing Business Survey, and the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index.

Quezon City retained the top spot as most competitive highly-urbanized, a distinction it has held for three consecutive years now.

Manila likewise remained on the second spot, while Pasay City obtained the third place.

Completing the top 10 for the most competitive highly-urbanized cities in the country are Cagayan de Oro at fifth place, Makati at sixth, Pasig at seventh, Bacolod at eight, Cebu at ninth, and Muntinlupa at tenth.

The CMCI 2018 named Rizal as the most competitive province in the country; Legazpi, Albay as most competitive component city; and Cainta as the most competitive municipality. — GAN (FREEMAN)