Naga ranked 9th in 2013 Top Ten list of Most Competitive Cities

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Naga City, despite its small size in terms of population and land area, placed 9th in the overall competitiveness ranking among the 122 cities in the country for year 2013, the only city in South Luzon to have been included in the elite list of dynamic cities.

In the municipal level, Daet, the capital town of Camarines Norte, was ranked fourth among the 162 other towns in the country.

Accordingly, the Regional Development Council in its meeting in Legazpi City last March 7, 2014 passed RDC Resolution No. 16, series of 2014 “commending Daet, Camarines Norte and Naga City as among the Top Ten Municipalities and Cities in the Philippines for 2013.”

The resolution, dated March 12, 2014 and signed by RDC Vice Chairman Luis G. Banua, emphasized that “the achievement of Daet, Camarines Norte and Naga City contributed to the attainment of the sector outcome of the Regional Development Plan of good governance and competitiveness practiced in the region.”

In 2012, Naga was ranked 19th in overall competitiveness ranking. “Jumping to 9th place in just a span of one year is an admirable feat,” an elated Mayor Bongat recently told a group of local businessmen even as he noted that Naga is the only small city in the traditional league of big cities that normally land in the Top Ten list.

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

The rankings are based on data collected and submitted by the RCCs.

Overall Competitiveness
Cities and municipalities are ranked on their competitiveness based on an overall competitiveness score. The overall competitiveness score is the sum of scores on three main factors which pool data from several sub-indicators. The three main factors are: economic dynamism, government efficiency and infrastructure.

Scores are determined by the values of the actual data, as well as the completeness of the submitted data. The higher the score of a city or municipality, the more competitive it is.

Infrastructure
Naga was ranked No. 1 in Infrastructure with a score of 29.54%, followed by San Fernando City (Pampanga) which had a score of 28.58%. Cagayan de Oro of Northern Mindanao was third with a score of 28.30%. Legazpi City placed 5th in this category while Sorsogon City was ranked 9th.

Among the municipalities, Daet was ranked first (23.19%), followed by Mexico, Pampanga (second, with 21.65%), and Virac, Catanduanes (third, with 21.41%), another Bicol town.

Governance Efficiency
Although Naga was not in the Top Ten in terms of economic dynamism which has been dominated by traditional larger cities such as Quezon City (No. 1), Marikina and General Santos City, it nevertheless ranked 5th in terms of Governance Efficiency.

Other indicators
Naga also posted impressive gains in other selected indicator highlights. Along with 5 other cities, Naga was ranked No. 1 among cities with fastest processing time for new business registration. It also ranked No. 1 for having the fastest processing time for construction permits, with Legazpi City landing second, Tabaco City, fourth, and Sorsogon City, eleventh. The latter three cities are also all situated in Bicol.

Moreover, Naga was ranked No. 1, along with 19 other cities, for having 100% electricity connection. But it ranked 18th among households with water connection, where the 17 other cities all have 100% water connection. Naga had registered 99% water connection. This is because many residents in Bgy. Panicuason at the foot of Mt. Isarog chose to snub water connection by the local water district because of their more than ample supply of potable spring water, which they can avail of without limit and for free. But, nevertheless, the city government still encourages them to have their water connection in order to avoid any incidence of water contamination in the future.