MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has named Quezon City as the most business-friendly local government unit in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Mayor Joy Belmonte personally received the award during the 49th Philippine Business Conference and Expo held at the Manila Hotel last Thursday.
“I share these awards with our city officials and employees who are working tirelessly to give businesses an ideal climate where they can flourish and provide employment and livelihood opportunities to QCitizens,” Belmonte said in a statement released yesterday.
“This victory proves that we are headed in the right direction, serving as an inspiration and a driving force for us to develop more programs and projects that will help businesses thrive,” she added.
The local chief executive noted various initiatives that the city government has undertaken to attract more investors, such as the digitization under the QC E-Services Program.
“After we automated our business processes, we have seen a 350-percent increase in capital investments totaling P51 billion in 2022. We even held the groundbreaking of the world’s biggest data center in the city, a testament to the overwhelming trust and confidence of the business sector,” she said.
Quezon City reported that 10,216 new businesses have been registered, up from 7,652 last year.
Belmonte also cited the StartUp QC program, which provides mentorship and financial grants to startup businesses, and the various support provided to micro, small and medium enterprises.
The PCCI-QC, led by its president Alfred Carandang, was also awarded the Most Outstanding Chamber for the NCR and the Philippines-City Level 1.
Joining Belmonte in receiving the award were Business Permits and Licensing Department head Margie Santos, city assessor Sherry Gonzalvo, Small Business and Cooperatives Development Promotions Office head Mona Yap and Local Economic Investment and Promotions Office head Jay Gatmaitan.
Also last week, Quezon City received several recognitions during the 2023 Urban Governance Exemplar Awards of the Department of the Interior and Local Government – NCR.