Bacolod City is the Most Competitive City in the Visayas in 2020, based on the data released by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC).
During NCC virtual awarding ceremony recently, the Top 20 most competitive cities was 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.
“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,” Mayor Evelio Leonardia said.
“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,” he added.
Completing the Top 10 are the cities of Makati, Muntinlupa, Pasig, Cagayan de Oro, Valenzuela, Caloocan, and Parañaque.
Also ranked in the top 20, from 14th to 20th, are Mandaluyong, Zamboanga, General Santos, Puerto Princesa, Mandaue, Baguio, and Las Piñas cities.
This annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities are based on the four pillars for governmental competitiveness: Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, and Resiliency.
It can be recalled that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) proclaimed Bacolod as the “Best-Performing LGU – City Category” in Western Visayas for 2019.
The city was also awarded the Seal of Good Local Governance last year by DILG Secretary Eduardo Año, and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry has 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./WDJ