Bacolod City and four other component cities in Negros Occidental were cited as among the most competitive local government units in Western Visayas.
During the 4th Regional Competitiveness Council-6 Recognition Ceremony for Competitive LGUs, that was led by the Department of Trade and Industry-6, at the Zuri Hotel in Iloilo City today, December 29, a total of 46 awards were conferred to 29 localities, where some of them garnered more than one recognition.
The cities and municipalities are ranked based on their overall competitiveness score measured through their economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure, and resiliency.
Of the six provinces in the region, Aklan was hailed as the most competitive province.
For economic dynamism, which was associated with activities that create a stable expansion of businesses and industries and higher employment, Kabankalan was ranked under the component cities category, while Iloilo City for the highly-urbanized city.
For government efficiency, which refers to the quality and reliability of government services and government support for effective and sustainable productive expansion, Cadiz and Silay were ranked under the component cities category and Iloilo City for the highly-urbanized city.
Under infrastructure, which refers to the physical building blocks that connect, expand and sustain a locality and its surroundings to enable the provision of goods and services, Bacolod City was cited for the highly-urbanized cities category, while Kabankalan for the component cities.
For resiliency, which refers to the ability of the people, households, communities, countries, and systems to mitigate, adapt to and recover from shocks and stresses and manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth, Bacolod was hailed for the highly-urbanized cities category, while Kabankalan and La Carlota were ranked for the component cities.
Bacolod and Cadiz were also hailed as the Most Improved LGUs for the highly-urbanized cities and component cities categories, respectively.
According to DTI-6, the data can provide LGUs with insight for policymaking, development planning, and investment promotion.*