The capital town of the smallest province in Northern Mindanao has emerged as the best performing local government unit in the recently concluded 3rd Regional Competitiveness Summit held last week in Manila.
Mambajao, Camiguin is the PH’s No. 1 3rd-6th Class Municipality in Overall Competitiveness
That smallest province didn’t do too badly in the rankings either. Camiguin emerged as the 10th Most Competitive Province in the newly created category for the 2015 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI), the second of Region X’s 5 provinces ranked in the Top 10 Provinces, second only to Misamis Oriental which ranked 2nd.
Mambajao Mayor Baby dela Fuente-Romualdo receives the award as the PH’s Most Competitive 3rd-6th Class Municipality for 2015
Mambajao, Camiguin was ranked the Most Competitive Municipality by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) in the newly created category of 3rd-6th Class Municipalities. Baler, Aurora was in second place, followed by Infanta, Quezon in third.
And that’s not all. Among the 978 municipalities which participated in the ranking, Mambajao emerged with the most number of recognitions with three: 2nd under the Economic Dynamism Pillar, 2nd in the Government Efficiency Pillar, and 1st in Overall Competitiveness.
“For Mambajao, the recognition given to us is a signal to the whole world that we are open for business,” said Mambajao Mayor Ma. Luisa dela Fuente-Romualdo in a text message to this paper. “We have instilled within our town a culture of excellence that is conducive for business and that will foster greater progress and inclusive growth.”
Mambajao Municipal Mayor, Ma. Luisa Romualdo trying on the electronic services offered by the Job Search Kiosk during its turnover to the Municipal Government last 6 May 2015 in Camiguin Province. (DOLE-X Camiguin PFO)
The new rankings are a marked improvement over the town’s first rankings in the 2013 Overall Competitiveness Rankings where it ranked 24th among the 163 participating municipalities. Even then, Mambajao already placed 4th in infrastructure with municipalities ranked under a single category.
For the 2015 rankings, NCC created two categories for municipalities: 1st-2nd Class and 3rd to 4th class. Mambajao topped 516 municipalities in the latter category to emerge as the Most Competitive Municipality for 2015.
Mambajao is a third class municipality in the province of Camiguin. Founded in 1855, it is the capital and largest municipality of Camiguin. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 36,435 people.
Mambajao is one of Camiguin’s most visited destinations with natural and cultural attractions such as the San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish, Ardent Hot Sprint and White Island. It also houses most of the business establishments in Camiguin which are mostly engaged in wholesale and retail trade and services.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Camiguin Provincial Office launches a ‘Negosyo Center’ at the new Mambajao Municipal Hall July 6, 2015 as one of the highlights for the 160th Foundation Day of Mambajao municipality. Witnessing the launching are Camiguin Gov. Jurdin Jesus Romualdo, Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo and Mambajao Mayor Maria Luisa Romualdo.
The Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) which the NCC presents in its annual Regional Competitiveness Summit measures competitiveness at the local government level using 28 indicators grouped into three equally-weighted pillars: Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, and Infrastructure. Scores on each pillar were combined to form the overall score used to rank cities and municipalities.
In a post at its website http://www.competitive.org.ph/
For a province to qualify in the ranking, the NCC said the combined population of all participating LGUs under the province should constitute at least 60% of the Total Provincial Population. For those provinces which qualify given this specific condition, the scoring is calculated as the population and income weighted average of the LGUs covered. Scores of the LGUs covered are then aggregated. (- See more at: http://www.competitive.org.ph/
Previously, the NCC conferred awards for the Top 3 Overall Most Competitive Cities and Municipalities and also recognized the Top 3 Most Competitive Cities and Municipalities per pillar (Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, and Infrastructure).
The Business One Stop Shop (BOSS) facility at the LGU-Mambajao Municipal Lobby seeks to encourage more businessmen to register their new or expanded businesses by making the process less tedious, faster and cheaper.
To more accurately gauge the competitiveness of the localities, NCC introduced new award categories during the summit: Provinces, 3rd to 6th Class Municipalities, 1st to 2nd Class Municipalities, Component Cities, and Highly Urbanized Cities.
“For Camiguin, it means that being small is not an obstacle to being competitive,” said Governor Jurdin Jesus M. Romualdo in a text message sent to this paper. “With a lot of hard work, discipline, and political will, we can be as good as and even better than larger localities.”
Besides Misamis Oriental at #2 with a score of 38.9269 and Camiguin at #10 with a score of 34.2111, the other provinces in Region X were ranked for overall competitiveness in 2015 as follows with their respective scores: Lanao del Norte #19 (31.0575); Bukidnon #32 (28.9225) and Misamis Occidental #46 (26.8057).
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