Wednesday, July 29, 2009 [ sunstar.com.ph ]
BAGUIO City ranked 18th among 25 medium-sized cities in the recent results of the Asian Institute of Management's Philippine Cities Competitiveness Ranking Project conducted last 2007.
There were almost 70 respondents who rated the city.
The indicators for the city's competitiveness are cost of doing business, dynamism, human resource and training, infrastructure, responsiveness of local government units, and the quality of life.
Among the indicators, Baguio ranked second in terms of dynamism, 20th in infrastructure, 22nd in responsiveness of LGU, 20th in cost of doing business, and 14th in the quality of life.
Saint Louis University College of Accountancy and Commerce Dean Reynaldo Bautista said the city has joined in the project in all the five seasons and has posed an all-time high rank of 6.27 but slid down to 18th among 25 medium sized cities.
The city has ranked third in the 1999 and 2001 results.
Bautista said the city is strong in terms of peace and order, access to financing, informal fees, transportation, utilities, and some aspects of health. The city garnered 9.00 in peace and order.
But the city posed a weak score in terms of electricity rates, water sources, City Government regulations, registered businesses, and hotel beds.
According to Bautista, the biggest drop in Baguio's competitiveness is the quality of life. He explained the city used to be strong in terms of satisfying its citizens.
University of the Cordilleras vice president for administration Leonarda Aguinalde said the results of the study should be seen as benchmark for solutions and studies.
She pointed out that it is the responsibility of educational institutions to safeguard its students and give a good quality of life.
"We should not take this lightly. The results should give us functional knowledge," Aguinalde said.
Bautista recommended solutions to augment the city's competitiveness.
These solutions involve transparency in government, reviewing the business procedures, and reviewing land use regulation. These were recommended in lieu of the LGU's rating. (Visha Calventas)
Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on July 30, 2009.
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