Santo Tomas declared as Most Improved LGU in 2021

The town placed third as the “Most Improved LGU” in the 2021 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI), an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities developed by the National Competitiveness Council.

In a statement released on Thursday ( Feb. 24),  Mayor Ernesto Evangelista  said the ranking is the testament of governance rooted in a strong tact against corruption, criminalities —espousing a pro-people governance and what he delivered to all its residents despite these trying times. 

“Nagbunga atong paningkamot na mahimong tarong ang pagdumala sa Santo Tomas LGU pinaagi sa gipakusgan ug sakto na paghatag og serbisyo ug mga program para sa katawhang Tomasino. Kini tungod sa pangingkamot sa tanan, apil ang mga Tomasinong naghatag og pagsalig sa Santo Tomas LGU,” he said. 

The Cities and Municipalities Competitive Index is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities developed by the National Competitiveness Council through the Regional Competitiveness Committees (RCCs) with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development.

The rankings are based on the sum of their scores on 4 Pillars:  Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, and Resiliency.

Under  Evangelista administration, Santo Tomas ranked third as the Most Improved Municipality under the 1st and 2nd Class Municipality Category. It also ranked seven in Resiliency pillar and ranked 10 in Economic Dynamism, respectively. 

Santo Tomas ranked 247 in 2019; ranked 93 in 2020 and ranked third in 2021—an indicator of well-functioning governance aimed at providing a quality, efficient and effective, corrupt-free governance for the people of Santo Tomas. 

Local Economic Investment Promotions Office (LEIPO) head Joy Gonzaga the present ranking of the municipality in the  CMCI is an indicator that the municipality has commendable performance.

Gonzaga said that her office was in tandem with the Business Permit and Licensing Section (BPLS) under the leadership of its head Ana Jane Gatillo where in all relevant data were submitted to DTI and will then be validated by several other national government agencies. 

She said that relevant data include how many businesses applied for permits and certification and how much revenue was earned by registered businesses in the entire municipality.