City is RP’s 6th, region’s 1st in “government efficiency”

Tagbilaran City holds something to be proud of.

The city topped Central Visayas and landed 6th in the entire country in terms of “Government Efficiency” from among 136 cities and 399 municipalities all over the country as evaluated this year by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC), a public-private task force on Philippine Competitiveness.

The city bested  three of the most highly urbanized cities in the region,namely Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City and Cebu City  with three indicators: economic dynamism, infrastructure and government efficiency.

Tagbilaran City scored high  in the pillar of Government Efficiency which means that the quality and reliability of government services and support for sustainable expansion were already in place.  Tagbilaran City was singled out in the 6th spot among the 136 cities joining the ranks of Naga City on top, followed by Iloilo, Angeles City, Makati and Cagayan de Oro,

The cities and municipalities index is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and towns developed by the National Competitiveness Council through the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Reacting to the distinction given to the city, Mayor John Gessnell “Baba” Yap told the Chronicle that the award only “affirmed the hard work and consistency that the city government has been extending to the public”. He cited that these accomplishments were not just lip-service but were indeed measured against a criteria set by the independent council.

The results were based solely on statistics and data collected as well as on public opinion surveys. The scores clearly reflected the progress which the city has achieved.

Mayor Yap said the distinction strongly siginifes that the city is “ever-ready for employment and investment opportunities so to attract business opportunities .

In the indicator of “Investment Promotions” under Government Efficiency, Tagbilaran City was ranked No. 1 in the entire country.

The survey and results were conducted by the National Competitiveness Council whichwas formed in October 2006 to address the improvement of the country’s  competitiveness from the bottom third of competitiveness rankings to the top third by 2016.  This council is chaired by DTI Secretary Gregory Domingo and co-chaired by Guillermo Luz of the Makati Business Club and chief operating officer of Ayala Foundation.