The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) awarded the Muntinlupa city government a plaque of recognition on Wednesday, June 29, for ranking No. 1 in resiliency among all highly-urbanized cities (HUCs) in the country under the 2021 Cities and Municipalities Competitiveness Index (CMCI).
According to the CMCI website, “local competitiveness is how a city or municipality knows its resources and how it uses these to improve its standard of living.”
Outgoing Mayor and congressman-elect Jaime Fresnedi received the plaque of recognition from DTI Competitiveness Bureau Director Lilian Salonga.
Muntinlupa topped the resilience pillar of CMCI for two consecutive years. The resiliency pillar ranking is based on annual disaster drill, budget for disaster risk reduction and management plan, disaster risk reduction plan, emergency infrastructure, employed population, early warning system, local risk assessments, land use plan, sanitary system and utilities.
Also joining the program were City Administrator Allan Cachuela, Business Permits and Licensing Office executives led by Eli Hilapo, City Planning and Development Office acting chief Alvin Veron, International Relations Officer James Arriola, National Quality and Competitiveness Division chief Ma. Sheryl Santos, and DTI-NCRO Area 2 Division Chief Rowena D.B. San Jose.
The DTI, through the National Competitiveness Council, conducts the annual CMCI, which ranks local government units in the country based on four pillars: economic dynamism, government efficiency, infrastructure, and resiliency.
In the 2021 rankings for highly-urbanized cities in the country, defined as LGUs with at least 200,000 population and latest annual income of at least P50 million, Muntinlupa ranked first with a score of 20.68.
In the overall CMCI rankings for HUCs in the country, Muntinlupa placed fifth with a score of 48. It is No. 1 in resiliency, No. 5 in infrastructure, No. 7 in government efficiency, and No. 19 in economic dynamism.