Lamitan City in Basilan, municipalities of Sultan Kudarat, Buldon, and Datu Abdullah Sangki, all in Maguindanao, were hailed as the over-all most competitive component city, first to second class municipality, third to fourth class municipality, and fifth to sixth class municipality, respectively.
COTABATO CITY—The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) named the “most competitive” local government units (LGUs) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for 2020 on Friday, Sept. 3.
The awarding was conferred by the DTI through its Competitiveness Bureau and in partnership with the BARMM’s Ministry of Trade, Investments and Tourism (MTIT) during the Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI) Summit via online streaming.
Lamitan City in Basilan, municipalities of Sultan Kudarat, Buldon, and Datu Abdullah Sangki, all in Maguindanao, were hailed as the over-all most competitive component city, first to second class municipality, third to fourth class municipality, and fifth to sixth class municipality, respectively.
MTIT Minister Abu Amri Taddik said building local competitiveness is critical in enhancing long-term regional and national competitiveness.
“Local competitiveness is how a city or municipality knows it resources and how it uses these to improve its standard of living,” Minister Taddik added.
BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim said the CMCI Summit will enable the regional government to showcase that LGUs can compete in national standards.
“The success of our LGUs today is the success of the entire Bangsamoro,” the Chief Minister said.
CMCI is an annual ranking of cities and municipalities, and is a program that encourages LGUs to gather and submit data that measure their performance in core and convergent pillars of Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, and Resiliency. The DTI added Innovation as a new pillar for the competitiveness index.
Here is the ranking of the over-all most competitive BARMM LGUs:
Component Cities:
1st: Lamitan City in Basilan
2nd: Marawi City in Lanao del Sur
First to Second Class Municipalities:
1st: Sultan Kudarat in Maguindanao
2nd: Jolo in Sulu
3rd: Talipao in Sulu
Third to Fourth Class Municipalities:
1st: Buldon in Maguindanao
2nd: General Salipada K. Pendatun in Maguindanao
3rd: Buadipuso-Buntong in Lanao del Sur
Fifth to Sixth Class Municipalities:
1st: Datu Abdullah Sangki in Maguindanao
2nd: Sultan Mastura in Maguindanao
3rd: Datu Hoffer Ampatuan in Maguindanao
DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said these BARMM LGUs have excelled in the competitiveness criteria set by the National Competitiveness Council through the Regional Competitiveness Committees (RCCs) with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development.
“Despite the ongoing pandemic nationwide and the series of calamities happening in the region, BARMM LGUs have shown excellence and proven their resilience,” Sec. Lopez noted. (Bangsamoro Information Office)
