Quezon City named overall most competitive highly urbanized city

MANILA, Philippines — Quezon City was named the overall most competitive highly urbanized city in this year’s index, which tracks cities and municipalities’ local competitiveness.

During the 9th Regional Competitiveness Summit held yesterday, Quezon City was announced as the overall most competitive highly urbanized city in the 2021 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) with a score of 59.3.

The annual index ranks cities and municipalities using a set of indicators under the following pillars: economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure and resiliency.

The higher the score, the more competitive a city or municipality is.

Over 1,000 LGUs participated in this year’s CMCI.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the CMCI not only addresses the lack of a standardized system for compiling local indicators, but also allows local government units (LGU) to assess their level of competitiveness and get insights they can use to craft policies and plans.

“The CMCI program has also continued to be instrumental in providing data for investors and local chief executives from which they draw meaningful insights and strategic imperatives,” he said.

QC Mayor Joy Belmonte said while the LGU has been focused on addressing the pandemic over the past year, it also continued efforts in making QC a business-friendly destination.

“We continuously built an environment that would foster competitiveness, innovation and success for all types of businesses,” she said.

The CMCI showed Manila as second most competitive, followed by Pasay in third place among highly urbanized cities.

When it comes to component cities, Naga in Camarines Sur was named the most competitive, followed by Antipolo in Rizal and Tagum in Davao del Norte.

For Class 1 to 2 municipalities, Cainta in Rizal topped the list, while Baliwag in Bulacan came in second and San Mateo in Rizal was in third place.

Among Class 3 to 4 municipalities, Panglao in Bohol was awarded as the most competitive, followed by Mambajao in Camiguin in second place and Baler in Aurora in the third spot.

As for Class 5 to 6 municipalities, Roxas in Zamboanga del Norte got first place, while General Luna in Surigao del Norte ranked second and Kauswagan in Lanao del Norte completed the top three.

The province of Rizal was declared the most competitive province with a score of 45.75.

Taking the second spot was Davao del Norte, followed by Camiguin in third place.

Lopez said the innovation pillar would be included in the scoring and ranking of cities and municipalities in the CMCI next year.

“Now more than ever, we realize the importance of innovation. They have played a crucial role in keeping societies functional in times of quarantines or lockdowns. The same technologies would be needed as we restart the economy and prepare for the post crisis future,” he said.

He said innovation is important as LGUs are now finding ways to use new technologies in addressing issues concerning business registrations, permits and productivity.

“Making innovation at the heart of LGU policies would enable them to grow more dynamic local economies,” he said.