Davao among top most competitive cities in PH

Davao City won the award at the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) 10th Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Summit held at the Philippine International Convention Center on Thursday (Oct. 20).

This year, Quezon City came in first, followed by the cities of  Manila and Pasay.

Aside from its overall rank, the city also ranked 3rd Most Competitive in Economic Dynamism; 6th Most Competitive in Infrastructure; 6th Most Competitive in Resiliency; 7th Most Competitive in Innovation; and 8th Most Competitive in Government Efficiency.

City Investment and Promotion Center Officer-In-Charge April Marie Dayap said this is the eighth time the city was feted among the top competitive HUCs since 2015.

She said they were very delighted and honored that the city was recognized among the awardees under the highly urbanized category- considered the cream of the crop among all cities in the country.

“The consistent inclusion of the city as one of CMCI's top 5 award shows that we are growing. The award is a validation of the untiring efforts of the local government of Davao to improve and enhance its operations and systems for the benefit of our constituents. We take note that other cities are also doing their best to improve their services to their people,” Dayap said.

She said the recognition is dedicated to all Dabawenyos who continue to trust and cooperate with the local government.

According to her, Mayor Sebastian Z. Duterte and the local officials, in partnership with the private sector, will continue to come up with innovative approaches and solutions and take steps to improve our local government systems, delivery of services, and overall living and business conditions in the city, which is the driving force behind the success of the city.

The city continues to build a business-friendly environment and improve the Ease of Doing business while maintaining a good working relationship with the private sector.

For Infrastructure, she said, the city witnessed the construction and the rise of several infrastructure projects and more are expected to come. Several infrastructure projects are also designed to improve trade, connectivity, and quality of life in Davao.

“When it comes to resiliency, we are confident that Davao City is one of the best in the country with our current infrastructure and systems. While innovation has been fully embraced with the city’s operations and processes being automated and digitized. In addition, Innovation has become a priority agenda of the local government in recent years and we have in fact established the Davao City Inventions and Innovations Council,” Dayap said.

City Acting City Administrator Atty. Francis Mark Layog,for his part, expressed gratitude to the DTI for recognizing the city and thanked the city government workers for their continued commitment to sustaining the growth of the city and ensuring the efficient delivery of quality services to the public.

Layog also said that this award inspires more effort to improve the competitive pillars that the local government shall continue to push forward in attaining its vision to become a globally livable city and a center of excellence guided by its 12 key priority areas.

Now in its 10th year, the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) highlights the conferment of over 100 awards to deserving local government units that have excelled in the five pillars.