ILOILO City has secured a spot as finalist to the 2024 Most Business-Friendly Local Government Unit (LGU) Award by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).
Mayor Jerry P. Treñas attributes this honor to the city’s dynamic approach to fostering a business-friendly climate that bolsters the local economy and improves the lives of citizens.
“We believe that by nurturing a welcoming environment and supporting businesses of all sizes, we create a vibrant economy that enhances the quality of life of all our residents. This recognition reflects our commitment to maintaining and even improving what Iloilo is today — a city where innovation and entrepreneurship thrive,” Treñas said.
He stressed that this affirms investors’ confidence and manifests the much-improved governance and strong public-private partnerships.
Treñas also thanked everyone who contributed to this effort and expressed excitement to continue working together to build a prosperous future for Iloilo City.
City government officials are scheduled to present before a panel of judges today, September 23 in McKinley Town Center, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
Significant initiatives on fast-tracking sustainable local economic development will be highlighted, including ease of doing business, investment promotion, and enhancing sectoral competitiveness.
PCCI annually recognizes LGUs that have demonstrated outstanding efforts in instituting good governance reforms to promote trade and investments, transparency, accountability, and efficiency in delivering business services to generate inclusive and sustainable growth and fast-track local economic development in their localities.
Iloilo City was cited as Most Business-Friendly LGU in 2023 and 2019, recipient of the Special Citation Award in 2022 and 2020, and a national finalist in 2021.
Some recent innovations in the metropolis include the establishment of off-site payment/business centers in four malls for easy, fast, and convenient application, renewal and payment of business permits, and other payment-related transactions.
Through the Local Economic Development and Investment Promotion Office, the city has also introduced the Uswag Negosyo Academy for the development of micro and small enterprises; pushed for incentives for investments; conducted business-friendly consultations; implemented the Innovate Iloilo Project; and established the Iloilo City Business Coordination Council.
On the other hand, representatives from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are scheduled to visit Iloilo City to evaluate its development potential and resilience, and to explore opportunities for collaboration.
A team from the IMF requested to meet with the mayor and other city government officials on September 23 as part of the annual IMF Article IV Consultation Mission to the Philippines.
Led by Ms. Elif Arbatli Saxegaard, the IMF aims to assess the potential impact of external developments on the business prospects of regional growth centers.
For this, they will particularly meet with the local banking sector, business communities, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, and relevant organizations from the renewable energy sector.
The IMF is an international financial institution that conducts surveillance of member economies, provides lending to member countries in case of balance of payments difficulties, and provides capacity development in economics and finance.
Treñas expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming meetings, noting the significance of the World Bank’s initiatives for local development.
“Ang World Bank, usually nagakadto ina kay may mga initiatives sila nga i-develop sa aton. I am looking forward to the meeting… You don’t get the World Bank to come here and just listen to us,” Treñas shared.
World Bank representatives will be in Iloilo City on October 2 to better understand the city’s practices on planning, finance, and investment in smart and resilient infrastructure and service delivery.
Senior Urban Development Specialist Narae Choi, Task Team Leader, particularly requested through a letter if she could meet with Treñas and those involved in urban planning, budgeting, and implementation, with a particular focus on local fiscal management and taxation and smart city investment planning.
The World Bank’s technical assistance program, Strengthening Local Government Finance and Development to Build Urban Resilience, aims to support delivering climate-resilient urban infrastructure and services.
The institution does this by enhancing local financing and investment planning, improving creditworthiness and access to climate financing, advancing property tax reforms and local revenue generation, and developing smart city programs./PN
