DAVAO DEL NORTE – Davao del Norte got back its former position as the Overall Second Most Competitive Province in the country, during the 2023 Philippine Creative Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Congress held on, September 28, at the Manila Hotel, Ermita, Manila.
Governor Edwin I. Jubahib received the award from PCCI President George Barcelon and Advisors Dr. Alberto Fenix, Jr. and Ma. Alegria Limjoco at the congress held by the Department of Trade and Industry-Competitiveness Bureau (DTI-CB)
Davao del Norte garnered the said award after it landed next only to Rizal Province in the 2023 rankings of the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI).
This was brought about by the increase in investments and income, as well as improved enabling economic environment that served as basis for the CMCI 2023, according to the pillars of economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure, resiliency, and innovation.
It can be recalled that Davao del Norte held the second position in the 2020 and 2021 CMCI index rankings, but it slid down to number three in the rankings last year.
This feat makes Davao del Norte also the most competitive province in the Visayas and Mindanao region for six years in a row now.
Davao del Norte remained a favorite investment haven in the Davao Region, since it registered a total of P1.570-billion fresh investments in 2022 from 5,916 new business registrants, which generated 63,855 jobs for the Dabaonon people.
Meanwhile, the LGUs of Davao del Norte which also received recognition include the municipality of New Corella as Top 2 Most Improved 1st-2nd Class Municipality; Tagum City as Top 5 Most Competitive Component City, Top 6 Most Competitive City in Infrastructure and Top 8 Most Competitive City on Innovation; and, Panabo City as Most Competitive City on Government Efficiency.
The CMCI is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities developed by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) through the Regional Competitiveness Committees (RCCs), with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development.
Provincial rankings are based on population and income weighted average of the overall scores of cities and municipalities under a province. (Noel Baguio)
