The City of Muntinlupa emerged as the No. 5 most competitive and No. 1 most resilient highly urbanized city (HUC) in the Philippines.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in partnership with Ayala Corporation and Globe Telecom, recognized the most competitive cities and municipalities this year in the 9th Regional Competitiveness Summit announced online on Dec. 13.
Local government units (LGUs) all over the country were ranked based on DTI’s Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI), which is the sum of four pillars: economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure and resiliency.
In the overall most competitive highly urbanized cities in the country for 2021, Muntinlupa bagged fifth place. The overall rankings for cities and municipalities are based on the four pillars.
In addition, Muntinlupa ranked No. 1 in resiliency, No. 5 in infrastructure, No. 6 most improved city, and No. 7 in government efficiency among highly urbanized cities.
“From the City Government of Muntinlupa, I sincerely thank the Department of Trade and Industry for recognizing Muntinlupa City as one of the most competitive cities in the Philippines,” said Muntinlupa Mayor Jaime Fresnedi.
According to the CMCI, “resiliency is the capacity of a locality to facilitate businesses and industries to create jobs, raise productivity, and increase the incomes of citizens over time despite the shocks and stresses it encounters.”
“This implies that the role of local governments is critical in ensuring a competitive environment to make businesses sustain their profits, create jobs, and increase the productivity of its people. In order for localities to be able to do this, it must be resilient in its infrastructure, governance, social and environmental systems,” it added.
The resiliency ranking is based on the following:
- Organization and Coordination: Land Use Plan
- Organization and Coordination: Disaster Risk Reduction Plan
- Organization and Coordination: Annual Disaster Drill
- Organization and Coordination: Early Warning System
- Resiliency Financing: Budget for DRRMP
- Resiliency Reports: Local Risk Assessments
- Resiliency Infrastructure: Emergency Infrastructure
- Resiliency Infrastructure: Utilities
- Resilience of System: Employed Population
- Resilience of System: Sanitary System
In 2020, Muntinlupa ranked fifth as the most competitive city among highly urbanized cities in the country and first in resiliency among HUCs.