7 Davao LGUs among most competitive cities, municipalities
By Iona Finlay C. Mendoza
Local government units in Davao Region are named as among the country’s most competitive cities and municipalities for 2021, based on the annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities.
During the 9th Regional Competitiveness Summit on December 14, Davao del Norte, Tagum City, Davao City, Digos City, Municipality of Laak, Sulop Municipality, and San Isidro Municipality all placed top in the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI).
Tagum City retained its Top 3 rank of Overall Most Competitive component city, just behind Naga City in first place and Antipolo City in second place.
Tagum also emerged top in two other competitiveness pillars – Top 1 in Government Efficiency while Top 2 in Resiliency.
Davao del Norte also defended its title as the second Overall Most Competitive province, only after Rizal Province in Region 4-A.
Digos City was named as the Top 1 Most Improved component city.
“This award will inspire and motivate us to work harder and smarter as we continue to provide a better life for our people,” said Digos City Mayor Josef Fortich Cagas.
Meanwhile, Davao City placed fourth in Overall Competitiveness of highly urbanized cities, dropping from second last year.
Davao City Vice Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte said that it had been challenging for Davao City to implement programs and development plans due to the ongoing pandemic.
“It (became) extra challenging yet the City Government of Davao continues to aim for excellence and competitiveness in the different aspects of governance,” said the vice mayor in a pre-recorded video.
However, Davao City still placed 3rd in three other competitiveness pillars of CMCI namely Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, and Infrastructure.
The Municipality of Laak in Davao de Oro won first place as Most Improved under the Class 1-2 Municipalities category. While the Municipality of Sulop in Davao del Sur under the category Class 3-4 Municipalities, also emerged first place in Infrastructure.
Lastly, Davao Oriental’s San Isidro Municipality ranked second in Most Improved Class 5-6 Municipalities.
Led by the Department of Trade and Industry, the 9th Regional Competitiveness Summit is in partnership with Ayala Corporation and Globe Telecom.
The CMCI is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities based on the sum of their scores on the following criteria: Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, Resiliency, and Innovation. ICM with CIO, PIA-DAVAO
