In the past two years, various public and private infrastructures and establishments have sprouted in Angono which have contributed to the town’s vibrant economic life blood.
SM Center Angono, McDonald’s, 7-Eleven, Puregold, a renovated and more spacious Jollibee, expanded roads and bridges as well as cell sites of various telecommunication companies have provided services and addressing the daily needs of Angono people.
This development caught the attention of the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) Philippines led by former chair of the Makati Business Club Guillermo Luz.
The consumer watch and business group on July 16, 2015 distributed plaque of citations recognizing the competitiveness of various local government units, including Angono which won 1st place as Most Competitive in Infrastructure among 1st class municipalities nationwide.
The awarding was held at the Philippine International Convention Center.
The competitiveness of a municipality or city is measured based on three pillars namely economic dynamism, government efficiency, and infrastructure, in which each pillar has indicators which provide a more detailed view of the economic status of the locality.
“There are 8 indicators for Economic Dynamism and 10 indicators for both Government Efficiency and Infrastructure, totaling 28 indicators. The data submitted by the Local Government Units, through the assistance of a partner Academe and the Regional Competitiveness Committees, is used for the final scoring and ranking,” NCC Philippines explained on its website.
In his speech, Luz noted that NCC Philippines’s indexing of LGU’s competitiveness could be used as an assessment tool.
The index on competitiveness gives the private sector a basis for studying cities and determining where to locate their investments in the country. For the public sector, this becomes a diagnostic tool so the public executives may know whether they are delivering or not delivering, whether they are getting better or not improving, and whether they are getting the results they want or not,” he said.
In 2015, NCC Philippines reviewed and analyzed 978 municipalities and 142 cities in 68 provinces nationwide or 1,120 participating local governments out of 1,634 LGUs in the country covering 68% of all LGUs nationwide.
Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio ‘Butch’ Abad served as the guest of honor and speaker.
Abad recognized the LGUs as the national government’s partner and emphasized their primary role in “adopting a culture of competitiveness” which leads to inclusive growth.
“Good governance that highlights public accountability and transparency is the bedrock of LGUs’ competitiveness,” Abad said.
NCC Philippines’ vision is to promote a more competitive Philippines and instill a culture of excellence, through public-private sector collaboration as means to reduce poverty through inclusive growth and by implementing the action agenda with private sector initiatives that support public policies.
The awards were conferred and presented by prominent leaders from different sectors, which further underscored the value of the recognition.
The award conferrers included Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba, Undersecretary Nora Terrado, and Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya of the Department of Trade and Industry; Mr. Edgar Chua, Country Chairman of Shell Philippines; Mr. Cesar Bautista, former Secretary of DTI; Ms. Jane Yuan Xu, Country Director of the International Finance Corporation;
Mr. Dondi Mapa, National Technology Officer of Microsoft Philippines; Atty. Miguel Varella, President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mr. Ebb Hinchcliffe, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines; Undersecretary Richard Moya of the Department of Budget and Management; Mr. John Avila, Project Management Specialist of the Office of Economic Development and Governance, USAID Philippines;
Undersecretary Corazon Jimenez, General Manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority; Mr. Julian Payne, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines; Mr. Henry Schumacher, Executive Vice President of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines; Dr. Kenneth Y. Hartigan-Go, Undersecretary of the Department of Health; Mr. Anthony Lau, Head of eGov Group of Globe Telecom;
Mr. Guillermo Luz, Private Sector Co-Chair of the National Competitiveness Council; Secretary Florencio B. Abad of the Department of Budget and Management; and Secretary Jose Rene Almendras, Cabinet Secretary.