Bacolod, finalist for Most Business-Friendly City award

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the city is a finalist for the Most Business-Friendly City in the Philippines this year again.

Miguel Varela, chairman emeritus of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has invited Leonardia to attend the awarding ceremony of the 37th Philippine Business Conference and Exposition at the Manila Hotel today, Oct. 13.

Varela said President Benigno Simeon Aquino is the event's guest of honor who will also confer the award to the winning LGU. 

Leonardia said Bacolod City had been adjudged the Most Business Friendly City in the Visayas in 2006 and in 2007 when it also took the title of the Most Business Friendly City in the Philippines.

The mayor told The Freeman that the city has shown the consistency of its business environment based on the viewpoints of experts like the USAID, Asian Institute of Management, and the German Technical Cooperation, including the Information Technology Commission, the Department of Trade and Industry, and the Business Process Association of the Philippines.

The city was also this year's recipient of the Seal of Good Housekeeping award in an assessment done earlier by the DILG, he added. - THE FREEMAN