Local government units (LGUs) in the regions are focused on boosting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), tourism and agri-businesses, among others, to enhance their competitiveness level, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said at the 9th Regional Competitiveness Summit on Tuesday that the national competitiveness agenda setting has been completed already, formulating national and regional strategic road maps.
“It was found out that the strengthening and the growth of MSMEs, agri-business and tourism, human capital development and regional hubs are the priority areas that the regions want to focus on,” he explained.
“Thus, DTI shall ensure that the identified strategic contributions and deliverables about these areas will be accomplished within the given time period,” he added.
In relation to this, Lopez shared they opened the back end of the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) data analytics platform to allow LGUS to encode their own data, which will be subject to further validation.
Lopez said the initiative aims to “build, strategically map out and track local competitiveness.”
“It [CMCI] addresses the lack of a standardized system for compiling such local indicators in the country, while allowing LGUs to assess their relative level of competitiveness and derive insights for local policy-making and planning,” he explained.
Lopez reported that the number of submissions by the LGUs increased to 1,608 out of 1,632 LGUs nationwide this year from 1,552 previously.
Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) President Dakila Carlo E. Cua, for his part, urged LGUs to share their data to be able to contribute in improving the countries’ competitiveness.
“It is in this regard that we strongly encourage our fellow local chief executives and officials to access CMCI data analytics platform to help us draw meaningful insights that may jumpstart, if not rev up, our journey into a competitive, not complacent, world,” he said.
In addition, DTI Competitiveness and Innovation Group Director Lilian G. Salonga said that the comprehensive data set from CMCI is crucial in policy -making, development planning and investment promotion.
“The CMCI possesses the information needed by potential investors that will guide them in deciding where to locate their businesses,” she said. “Through data-driven policy- making, our country can rise again and recover from the severe impact of Covid-19 pandemic.”
Innovation
The CMCI is anchored with four major pillars: economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure and resiliency.
But the DTI introduced a fifth pillar, which is innovation, during the same event.
“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,” Lopez said. “The same technologies would be needed as we restart the economy and prepare for the post-crisis future.”
Lopez underscored the importance of the new pillar as LGUs ramp up efforts in crafting and implementing innovation policies and progress. Among the key areas include business registrations, permits, productivity or financial deepening.
For ULAP, Cua said they are keen on innovating through green technologies, among others.
“As the umbrella organization of all leagues of LGUs and local officials, the ULAP has been investing in information dissemination, knowledge sharing and best practice modeling,” he said.
This year, the CMCI acknowledged the following LGUs as the most competitive in their respective categories: Quezon City, Metro Manila (highly urbanized cities), Naga, Camarines Sur (component cities), Cainta, Rizal (class 1 to 2 municipalities), Panglao, Bohol (class 3 to 4 municipalities), Roxas, Zamboanga Del Norte (class 5 to 6 municipalities) and Rizal, Region 4 (provinces).
