BY GEROME DALIPE
ILOILO City – Mayor Jerry P. Treñas will outline “transformative visions and bold plans” as he presents his State of the City Address (SOCA) today.
Likewise, Treñas will also narrate to his constituents a “clear statement” of what his administration has done and the direction it is heading.
“We have done a lot and I am very proud of the employees, department heads, and the Ilonggos who have done much for Iloilo in the past year. But we still have so much to do,” Treñas noted in his press briefing.
The mayor will also cite the redevelopment of city-run public markets and plazas as among the city’s biggest accomplishments.
He recently announced additional funding of P300 million for the three public markets, namely Jaro, La Paz, and Arevalo Public Markets, which are projected to be completed by the end of this year. He added that works for the completion of the city-funded improvement of the public plazas are also ongoing.
Treñas is also expected to highlight some of the latest accomplishments of his administration, including the recognition anew of Iloilo City by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) as the number one in the Government Efficiency category among the list of top 10 cities in the Philippines category in its annual Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI).
CMCI is an annual ranking of Philippine cities and municipalities developed by the NCC through the Regional Competitiveness Committees (RCCs) with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
It measures competitiveness at the local government level using 28 indicators grouped into five equally weighted pillars: Economic Dynamism, Government Efficiency, Infrastructure, Resiliency, and Innovation. Scores on each pillar were combined to form the overall score used to rank cities and municipalities.
Iloilo City also ranked fifth in both resiliency and innovation groups and fifth overall in the highly urbanized city category based on the 2024 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index.
“I am proud of the achievements of Iloilo City. This is a testament to our teamwork and our resilience. Everyone worked so hard. Thank you for your hard work for Iloilo City,” Trenas said.
Iloilo City’s top ranking in Government Efficiency among highly urbanized cities highlights the city’s effective governance, public service delivery, and overall administrative performance. Such a ranking can boost the city’s reputation, attract investments, and enhance public trust in local government.
Apart from ranking first in government efficiency, Iloilo City also ranked seventh in dynamism; and ninth in the infrastructure category.
The NCC also ranked Iloilo City as number one in the list of top 10 cities for the Government Efficiency category during the 3rd Regional Competitiveness Summit in 2015
Meanwhile, Quezon City secured the top spot for the HUC Category followed by City of Manila (2nd) and Pasay City (3rd).
Cities and municipalities are ranked on their competitiveness based on an overall competitiveness score.
The overall competitiveness score is the sum of scores on five main pillars which pool data from several sub-indicators.
LGUs are ranked in each of the five convergent pillars of CMCI namely economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure, resiliency, and innovation
The fourth pillar measures the capability of an LGU to sustain competitiveness. Resiliency at the context of the local level is defined as the ability of the people, households, communities, countries, and systems to mitigate, adapt to, and recover from shocks and stresses in a manner that reduces chronic vulnerability and facilitates inclusive growth./PN
